The Blue Age
by VyeLoyomBrightwarrior
Summary: AU in which known magicians are enslaved. Rumpelstiltskin and Regina are slaves and they must raise a magical Henry without letting people realize that he has magic. Henry tries to find a way to rescue all the wizards from their terrible fate. Eventual Rumbelle and Stable Queen
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time. I welcome comments and constructive criticism but you know how the saying goes: if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all. Also, this is my first story so please go easy on me.**

**This was inspired by Snapegirlkmf's story A Dance in Winter. Snapegirlkmf writes really good stories so be sure and check them out.**

* * *

The Blue Age Prologue

The woman sat on the floor of her new house, or more appropriately hovel. This was the place she had promised herself she would never end up, but that had been before she had realized that she would have a beautiful baby girl with the same curse that afflicted her mother. Being here was definitely worth it, if it meant her child would not be forced into this horrible life.

Magic was not taken lightly in this land. She had been cursed with it ever since she could remember, but she had been able to keep it hidden. Not even her husband had known that she was a witch. She had thought it would never be discovered. But unfortunately her child had displayed magic only a few days after she was born. While she was grateful that the newborn had transported herself into her mother's arms when a maid dropped her instead of falling on the ground and dying, she was not happy about others knowing. She had been able to make it look like she had done the magic instead, which was a blessing. As long as nothing else happened, her child could lead a normal life.

The woman fiddled with the collar that was fastened around her neck. It prevented her from using magic and she knew that it would never come off her neck as long as she lived. Not that it mattered, her baby was safe. Later thinking back on this moment she would wonder at fate's cruel sense of humor because just then she heard a familiar crying. "Regina!" she yelled as she ran out the door to see some soldiers holding her now collared little one. One of the men deposited her daughter in her arms and gave her a smirk.

"Looks like being evil can be passed down Cora," he said. "That thing was so upset when you left, it threw a tantrum; a magical one."

They left as Cora went into the slave house with her little girl. She was mad at the way that man had talked about Regina, but she felt happy that the little girl loved her enough to use magic to show her sadness when her mother left. Regina had settled down in her arms and was looking up sweetly at Cora. Tears began to slide down Cora's cheeks as she looked at this precious gift. "We may be in the worst place possible," she cooed to the little one, "but at least we have each other."

* * *

Years later

Charming dashed through the castle, scared out of his mind. Snow's scream had come from the playroom. He didn't know what he would do if he lost the two most important people in his life. He got to the door, barely stopping long enough to fling it open with his left hand (since his right was obviously gripping his sword). Emma giggled as she saw her father rush in. "Are you going to teach me?" the toddler questioned, looking longingly at his sword.

Startled, Charming looked over at Snow. "What happened?"

"I didn't want to go take a nap," Emma declared, arms crossed defiantly. Charming stared at her in confusion. Why would that cause Snow to scream?

"I was telling Emma it was about time to go to her room for a nap," Snow began. "She was being stubborn as usual so …"

"I'm not stubborn!" Emma interrupted. That's when Charming realized that his little girl definitely needed a nap soon. She was getting pretty grumpy, so much so that he jokingly wondered to himself if she would turn into a dwarf.

Snow ignored the interruption. "I went to pick her up, but she teleported across the room," Snow informed him, giving him a meaningful look. Fear struck Charming as he realized the importance of this. If the LeGumes found out... no, the LeGumes would surely not be allowed to figure out that his child had magic. He would not let something that bad happen to Emma.

"I'll send a letter saying we can't make it to the annual ball this year," Charming stated. Snow nodded and he left to write the letter. Their lives had just gotten extremely complicated.

* * *

Years later

Milah and Killian boarded his ship, laughing over the contraband they had just stolen. They were so absorbed with each other that neither one of them immediately noticed Mr. Smee's failure to respond to the Captain's order to cast off. But after a minute of not hearing the feet of his crew scampering around to get the ship ready to go, Killian looked away from his wife. He immediately held her closer and drew his sword as he realized that some of LeGume's knights were on board.

Pendule LeGume came forward, smirking at the pirate. "I wasn't about to let some scurvy dog steal from my country. Oh, and your crew all agreed to join me under the pain of death. Aren't they just so brave and loyal?"

"You may have convinced my crew to join you, but I never will!" he declared. He felt Milah step away from him and looked over as she drew her sword.

"I wouldn't join you either!" she declared. Then she spoke in a lower voice to him. "You take Pendule, I'll take the knights.

"I couldn't agree more," Killian responded. The two of them began to fight with a skill that was worthy of many lengthy ballads. However, Pendule was able to corner Killian. He got in close so he could use a knife and didn't have to worry (as much) about Killian's sword. Pendule slashed at his arms repeatedly, but Killian managed to dodge. That is, he managed to dodge the first of Pendule's attacks. Finally one hit and Killian cried in pain, grasping at where his left hand used to be.

Pendule stood over him, laughing. "Now, pirate, you shall meet your end." If Milah hadn't yelled an angry battle cry they would have been done with the LeGume that day. As it was Pendule had to jump overboard to avoid being killed. Milah knelt next to her love and the rest of the crew, now free from the knights, quickly set about getting the ship away from this country.

"Don't worry," Milah told Killian as she started to tend to his wounds. "We will make them pay for this." That was the day the two pirates knew they would stop at nothing to bring down the LeGumes.

* * *

Years later

Rumpelstiltskin watched the soldiers instructing the boys from his hiding place with a rather large amount of disgust. It wasn't fair that they should keep forcing children to fight their war. It seemed to him that the nobles enjoyed watching the people suffer. Gaston LeGume was around the same age as Bae, but the spinner highly doubted that he would be called upon to fight.

His thoughts turned from how they refused to get involved personally to how he was sure they could help the war without any real cost to themselves. Didn't the royals have magical slaves? Why didn't they use the wizards to end the ogre wars? This is what convinced him that those in power enjoyed watching their people struggle. He supposed that they might not want to allow the sorcerers to do killing magic from the fear that they may turn that same magic on their masters, but it still didn't make sense to him. They had the power to save countless lives, why did they choose not to?

He shrunk back into the bushes as two of the commanding officers walked by. "We will have to ship this batch off to the front lines soon."

"But we've only been training them for a few weeks!"

"I know, but we don't have a choice. Besides, they won't be fighting." The man glanced around as though afraid of being overheard and pulled his comrade in closer. Rumpelstiltskin had to lean forward to catch what he said. "We have talked to the ogre king, and he said if we give him some boys he will leave the country alone."

"What will happen to them?"

"I don't know. And really, what does it matter? We'll be safe."

_At the price of our children's blood_ Rumpelstiltskin thought as the men turned and walked away. He couldn't let this happen. He had to do something. He had to talk to the ogre king.

* * *

"Papa," Bae called out as he entered his home. He looked around, confused at not finding his father in their house. He had snuck away from the soldier camp to tell his father he would be leaving for the front in the morning. He had gone to all that trouble and his father wasn't even there. He turned to go when a slip of paper on the table caught his eye.

Balefire frowned as he walked to the table. Papa had always said paper was a luxury that they couldn't afford. He picked up the paper, wondering what had caused his father to buy the precious commodity.

_Dear Bae,_

_I figured you would come by to see me before your battalion left. I knew you were leaving because I was spying on you. Yes, I know you're mad at me, but I overheard something important. You and the other boys are going to be nothing more than sacrifices to the ogres. I couldn't let that happen, so I'm off to stop it. I love you Bae._

_ From your Papa_

Bae stood there in shock. It wasn't that he was surprised that the town coward was being brave because he didn't think of his papa that way. It was because the soldiers had lied to him and the other boys and it was because of the thought that he might never see his father again. "Be careful, Papa."

* * *

Fear punched him hard in the face and Rumpelstiltskin took a step back, staring at the huge ogre camp. In all likelihood, he would be ripped to shreds before he got anywhere close to the ogre king. That wasn't going to stop him. He was a coward, but the thing he was afraid of most was losing his son. He could face death if it meant that his son might be spared.

"I wouldn't go down there," a voice said, causing Rumpelstiltskin to spin around. A noble stood there with several knights. "It's not exactly safe."

"I have to," the spinner told the other man. "This madness must stop. If it doesn't, I will lose my son."

"Your son is one of the boys that are going to be sacrificed, isn't he?" the noble asked. Rumpelstiltskin's angry glare provided the answer. "Then it isn't the ogres you need to be talking to, it's me."

Rumpelstiltskin may have been a coward, but he was no fool. He saw the way the men were smirking to each other and it had just occurred to him that these men were way too close to the ogre camp to be feeling this comfortable. "You are controlling the ogres," he stated.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were born noble. Your intelligence is remarkable." Rumpelstiltskin could tell it was meant as a compliment, but he took offense at it. He hated the way the other man thought nobles were better than everyone else.

"Why are you doing this?" the spinner asked. He found it hard to come up with a reason to kill all those innocent peasants.

"The LeGumes have taken my son."

"You mean your son is the kid that wanted magic," Rumpelstiltskin guessed. Everyone had heard of the foolish boy who had been so enthralled with magic that he had done a ceremony with a wizard. It was a ceremony that had transferred the magic from the man to the boy, and the imprisonment with it.

"They won't give him back to me, so I've done the only thing I can do. Take revenge."

"But this isn't hurting the LeGumes!" the spinner yelled, his voice getting louder with desperation. "This is hurting the people!"

"What do I care? It is the only way I can get any kind of comfort. And anyways, what do you think you can do to stop this, cripple?"

"I will do the ceremony with your son," Rumpelstiltskin replied, tears threatening to spill out of his eyes. He would probably never see Bae again. But this was the only way to save him. "Just promise me that no one else will be killed."

The noble grinned at him, making the spinner shy away from the the cold look. "We have a deal."

* * *

Bae had been shocked when the war had been declared over and he had been sent home. He was still wondering if his father had anything to do with their early return home. The emptiness of his home seemed to indicate that his father had managed to do something, but all this had him worried sick. He just wanted his papa back.

"Hello, Balefire." The boy turned around and was startled to find a fairy. And it wasn't just any fairy, it was the Blue Fairy. "I just wanted to let you know that your father lied to you. It pains me to say this but you had to know."

"I don't believe you," Bae told her. He knew fairies were supposed to help people, but he knew how much his father loved him. He would never leave.

"Your father was going to be drafted. He knew this and so he ran. He left you that note so you would not think him a coward."

"No!" Bae shouted, refusing to believe. "Leave, you liar!" he told her. She hesitated to leave, but she saw the anger in his eyes and left with a sigh. "I will find my papa!" he yelled after her. He collapsed to the ground then, tears streaming down his cheeks. Then he said softly, "I _will_ find my papa."

* * *

Regina heard the footsteps of several men outside the doorway and sighed. The boy had gotten himself in trouble … again. She really wished that the slaves that served Gaston and his sister, Claire, didn't have to share a hovel because the boy was ridiculous. Who in their right minds would give up their freedom? To do that just because you were intrigued by magic made you the most foolish person in the Enchanted Forest. And it didn't help that the boy was a selfish brat.

"This is where you will live," one of the soldiers said rather roughly as he swung the door open. She was quite shocked to see a man instead of the boy, with a too familiar collar around his neck. He had most of his weight on his left foot and was clutching tightly to a staff. _His right foot is crippled_ she realized. "She will explain everything else to you," the guard informed the man before all of the soldiers left.

He looked at her for a moment before he took a tentative step into the house they would now share. "I'm Rumpelstiltskin," he told her, holding out his hand so they could shake hands in introduction.

Regina refused to hold out her hand and Rumpelstiltskin let his fall back to his side in confusion. "Why did you trade spots with the boy?" she asked him coldly. He opened his mouth to say something but she keep going. "You are an idiot! What did you think you could do with magic? Heal that leg of yours? Well, looks like that plan failed!"

Rumpelstiltskin stared at the woman he was going to be living with in shock. She was obviously very angry, but he had no idea why. She was assuming things about him, so he realized he had to tell her his story before she got violent or something. "I didn't do this for me," he told her. She gave him an incredulous look but he continued. "I made a deal with someone; he would spare the lives of several children if I took the place of his son."

Regina stared at the soft-spoken man before her and internally kicked herself. _That's what you get for jumping to conclusions._ "Sorry," she said as she held out her hand. "I'm Regina."

He gave her a small smile as he reached out and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you Regina," he said and she could tell he meant it. He was going to make a much better roommate than that entitled boy.

* * *

Years later

He watched her from his hiding spot. He was beginning to have trouble not laughing as she "snuck" aboard his ship. Okay, his dad's ship. But either way, she was doing a horrible job at being unseen. In reality he knew she was better at this than most people, but he was better than her. In fact, he was the best sneak on the ship. That was why the other teenager didn't hear him coming until he spoke from right behind her. "What are you doing?"

She spun around in shock and had a sword out and pointed at him. Her beautiful hazel eyes caught him off guard but her golden hair didn't (even if that was because he had already gotten used to it from watching her from afar). He held his own sword up in defense as he watched the girl. "I came to take down this pirate ship," she told him, watching to see his reaction.

"What do you have against pirates that only steal from the LeGumes?" he asked her, hoping that she just hadn't realized they were the pirate ship that worked with Snow White and King Charming. He really wished the two of them could become friends.

"Oh, you're that pirate ship." She relaxed as she sheathed her sword. "Sorry."

"That's okay," he responded as he sheathed his own sword. "My name is Bae."

"I'm Emma."

* * *

Years later

"Absolutely not!" Charming yelled and was rather relieved to see that Milah seemed to agree with him. Snow looked as if she was in shock, but Hook looked as though he was going to argue his thought.

"He really loves her, and she wants to be with him," Hook spoke. "Who are we to keep them apart?" He looked at Milah at his last question, hoping she would see where he was coming from. After all, she had left her former husband to be with him. Who were they to tell Bae he couldn't marry who he wanted to?

"I'm not trying to keep them apart!" Charming yelled, defending his position. "I would just prefer that our children were a little older than seventeen before they married!"

"But they are in love and have been for years," Hook argued again. "Besides, plenty of people are marrying at the age of seventeen these days."

"Not our daughter!" Charming yelled again.

"Hook has a point," Snow stated. Charming turned around to her and opened his mouth, ready to dispute her. But Snow kept going before he could interrupt. "Our children have true love. I know this for sure because Emma showed me a true love potion she was able to make with a strand of hair from each of their heads. Charming, if we had met at that age and knew we had true love, wouldn't we have wanted to marry, too?"

Charming sighed as he looked around the room. He realized everyone had come to the same decision, even if some had come to it more reluctantly than others. "I will await Bae's request."

* * *

A little more than nine months later

"I can't have this baby!" Emma cried to Bae as she lay on the bed with labor pains. "Not here!"

"Well, it looks like he's coming whether we want him to or not." And sure enough, a few long and hard hours later, the baby had come. "Well, what should we name him?" Bae asked his exhausted eighteen-yea- old wife.

"Is Neal okay with you?" Emma asked. Bae nodded in agreement and she decided to explain why she liked that name. "It was the first name that popped into my head when I saw you."

Bae smiled at her. "You rest up now, because we are leaving the country in the morning, just in case." Emma knew exactly what he meant. They had to leave LeGume territory as soon as possible just in case her son had the same powers she did and decided to use them. In fact, she wanted to leave right then and there, but she was too tired to argue with Bae. Maybe she did need some rest before they left. The young couple never realized that they would come to regret the decision.

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin sunk back into the shadows as the door right next to him slammed open. A maid ran out. He had expected to see a scared or sad expression on her face, but instead she seemed oddly happy. A man ran out after her, and he looked terrified. "Get back here!" the man yelled, and Rumpelstiltskin froze completely in shock upon hearing the familiar voice.

"Bae," he whispered as he watched the son he had been separated from for years run around the corner. He had grown so much. Rumpelstiltskin had never been more frustrated with his bad leg as he realized he would not be able to catch up to his son. Trying to figure out what was going on; he peeked into the room his boy had just vacated.

"Why did you have to teleport the teddy bear to you?" the girl in the room spoke to a little baby. "Your daddy was about to get it for you." Rumpelstiltskin's heart stopped beating as he realized Bae was married. Bae had a child. _He_ had a grandson. And his grandson was a known magician. They were going to collar the boy.

Almost without thinking Rumpelstiltskin took a robe out of the basket of laundry he had been carrying. He swung it on and leaving his staff and the basket outside, he took slow deliberate steps into the room. The girl looked up and clutched her baby closer in fright. "Who are you?" she asked the mysterious hooded figure.

"I am an imp," he made up quickly, trying to think of a way to get her to hand over the boy. "I protect humans that use magic. Unfortunately, I cannot save them all; it is too great a task for one. Your son is destined to help save all the wizards. Let me take him, to save him."

Emma began to cry silently as she looked down at her son. She looked back up at the cloaked figure and asked, "Will I ever see him again?"

Rumpelstiltskin felt his own face get moist and he had to struggle to keep his voice from hitching. "I hope so. I really hope so."

Emma nodded silently as she looked back down at her baby. "I love you, son," she said before giving him a tear-stained kiss on the forehead. "Don't worry," she told the child as he started to fidget. "Our family has a knack for finding each other. I will find you again."

That's when she slipped the boy into Rumpelstiltskin's arms. The baby stirred a little but then quieted. Rumpelstiltskin looked back up at the mother and saw she was doing whatever she could to keep her composure. He had wanted to say something else to try and comfort her, but now he found no words to say. And besides that, he knew if he tried to say anything he would break down crying. So instead he turned and walked to the door.

"Thank you," she whispered and he paused at the door way. He knew that she must be torn between sorrow at losing her son and gratefulness for his safety. Again he wished he could say something, but he still lacked words so he closed the door. He heard her begin to sob as her heart split in two over the loss of her son, but all he could do was hide the boy in the laundry basket with the cloak he had be wearing laying on top of the boy, pick up his staff, and walk as quickly as he could back to his hovel.

* * *

Regina had just finish making dinner for Rumpelstiltskin and herself when she heard the familiar tap of his staff. She smiled softly, glad that her best friend was back. However, her smile quickly turned to a frown as she realized he was going faster than she had ever heard him go before. He swung open the door and she registered the fact that he must have used his staff to do in because in his other hand he held a basket.

"What's wrong?" she asked him as he came into the house, knocking the door closed with his staff. He looked up at her and she saw that his face was soaked with tears. Worried she moved closer to him as he sat the basket of laundry down on the table and began rummaging through it. "Are you okay?" He didn't respond but instead pulled something out of the basket, something he cradled in his arms. She watched him in shock, not quite believing what she saw. "It's a baby," she breathed.

"He's magic, and they were going to enslave him," Rumpelstiltskin spoke softly as he gently rocked the little one. "I thought we could keep him hidden in the basement we found a few years ago." He looked at her and she nodded in agreement as she realized there really wasn't anything better they could do for the boy. "We will need to think of something to call him."

He was looking at her expectantly, waiting to see if she had any ideas. A single tear rolled down her cheek in memory of the man who had had the name she was suggesting. "Henry. We should call him Henry."


	2. Changes

Changes

Rumpelstiltskin had no idea who Gaston's fiancée was, but he already disliked her. Gaston was working him overtime so that everything could be just right for his wife-to-be. As Rumpelstiltskin neared his house, he began to hear giggling. Counting his blessings that the house was not close to any of the other slave houses, he none the less felt fear coursing through his veins. He had told them over and over that they needed to be more careful but neither one seemed anywhere near as concerned about it as he did. He was just going to have to show them why he was scared.

He slowed down and was careful to make as little noise as possible as he crept up on his own house. Right as he got to the door he heard a renewed bought of laughter. He swung the door open as hard as he could and shouted "What's going on in here?" in his best soldier impersonation. His yell and the loud slam of the door caused the two occupants of the room to look over. Rumpelstiltskin was rather pleased with himself as he saw pure terror in their eyes for a split second before they relaxed. His grandson seemed slightly confused as to why he had done it, but his best friend was livid.

"Why did you do that?" Regina asked him as she got up. She had spoken softly and he knew that she did that when she was the angriest. Her body language also displayed her anger and for a brief second Rumpelstiltskin feared for his life. But then he composed himself. He had a point to make after all.

"You two were making way too much noise," he explained. "If a soldier had been walking by, Henry would have been caught."

"Soldiers never walk by at this time of day," Regina argued back, but Rumpelstiltskin saw through her. She was rationalizing.

"That doesn't mean they won't start. Look, I love it when we all can have fun together. You guys know that. But when we are spending time together in the house we have to take certain precautions."

Regina sighed and then nodded. "You're right. We just got carried away I guess."

"Now that you aren't mad anymore, can I have my hug?" Henry asked Rumpelstiltskin.

Rumpelstiltskin nodded and pulled the boy close in a hug. "You know I only get mad because I'm worried about you," he told the boy.

Henry shifted in his arms so he could look up at his grandpa. "I know." Then he pulled back and started to go over to the trapdoor. "Come here, I have something to show you guys." Rumpelstiltskin looked over at Regina but she just gave him a confused look. Seeing this, Henry said, "I wanted to wait until you were both here." Then he pulled open the trapdoor which he had learned to disguise with magic a few years ago and disappeared.

"After you," Rumpelstiltskin told Regina since he did not want to hold her up. It took him a long time to maneuver down the stairs that led to the basement, due to his limp.

"No, I'll help you down," Regina responded, knowing it was easier for him if he had someone supporting him. So they went down together, closing the trapdoor behind them. Rumpelstiltskin was out of breath by the time they reached the bottom. Henry grinned at them both as they made it and shifted from one foot to the other. He was obviously very excited to show them his surprise.

"I've been practicing this for weeks," Henry told them. "And I have been able to do it the past three times without any hiccups." That's when they realized that he was going to do something magic related. "You guys ready?"

"Of course," Regina replied. Rumpelstiltskin could tell that she was eager to see magic. When Henry looked at him, he nodded in confirmation. While he tended to get worried when Henry used magic for fear that he might be caught using it, he was quite proud of how good the boy was becoming.

"Okay, here it goes," Henry said as he lifted his arms. Rumpelstiltskin looked down in shock as he realized that his feet were no longer touching the ground. He looked around the room and realized that nothing was touching the ground. "Levitation!" Henry exclaimed happily when he saw their stunned looks. Finally getting over his shock, Rumpelstiltskin found himself laughing. This was one of the most amazing feelings in the world.

They stayed in the air for a few minute, laughing in wonder and speaking in amazement but eventually Henry let them down. "Sorry," he apologized when the fun was over. "I can normally do it for longer, but I wasn't concentrating on it as much with you guys here." Rumpelstiltskin looked at the boy in wonder at that statement. Henry was to the point where he could multitask with magic. That must mean he was really powerful.

"Don't worry about it," Regina reassured the ten-year-old. "We had lots of fun." Henry smiled at that, and then he yawned. It was pretty late, and besides that he had just done some powerful magic.

"Alright, it's bedtime," Rumpelstiltskin commented. This is when it became obvious just how tired Henry was because he didn't argue. Soon he was tucked in bed and fast asleep while the adults were back upstairs. Regina had saved Rumpelstiltskin some dinner, and he was eating it now. Regina sat across from him, and after he had had a few bites, she decided to ask about what had been bothering her ever since he got home.

"Why were you late today?" she questioned.

"Gaston's fiancée is coming tomorrow, and he wanted to be sure everything was just right for her arrival," Rumpelstiltskin responded.

"Poor girl! I can't imagine what it would be like to be married to that idiot."

"Who says she's not just as bad as he is?"

"Don't judge someone before you meet them. She could be really nice."

Rumpelstiltskin snorted. "Name one noble that's nice."

"You know, I judged you badly when I first met you, and I was wrong. Just give her a chance."

"Alright," he consented. Regina seemed satisfied and stopped pestering him. But he still thought that this fiancée was going to be just as arrogant and idiotic as her husband-to-be.

* * *

"No, you can't come," Charming told his daughter firmly despite the pleading look she was giving him. "You remember what happened last time."

"Yes, of course I do," Emma said, looking hurt. "But I'm not pregnant this time. Besides, Bae thinks he might find his dad there and we have to look."

"But the LeGumes are still mad at you," Charming held his ground. He was determined not to give in. His daughter's safety was on the line. "Who knows what they'll do if you go back!"

"They can't prove we hid our son and besides that you can't keep me safe forever!"

"But who will watch the boys?"

"I don't know, maybe the servants! There is a reason we have them you know!"

Snow sighed as she listened to the two bickering from outside the room. Emma was right, if the LeGumes hadn't gotten over the fact that Emma's son had magic by now then they were just going to have to get used to it. Emma and Bae would be rulers some day and they had to get some experience dealing with every country, even if the leaders hated them.

"You two are arguing like an old married couple, and I thought that was my job," Snow stated as she walked in the room. "And Charming, Emma's right. They have to learn how to deal with the LeGumes at some point."

"Fine, you can come," Charming gave in. Emma hugged in in happiness.

"Does that mean we can come too?" Everyone turned to the door to see seven-year-old Neal and fifteen-year-old Leo standing in the doorway.

Charming looked over at his wife to make sure they were on the same page and smiled when he saw they were. "Not a chance," he told his sons.

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin was busy tidying up Gaston's fiancée's room when he heard someone at the doorway. He turned around and saw a girl standing there. She was wearing a plain but pretty dress and he thought that she was probably a new maid. "Is this the new Lady's room?" the brunette questioned.

"Yes ma'am, it is," Rumpelstiltskin confirmed. He was glad that she was just a servant because that meant he could look her in the eye, and she had quite beautiful eyes. But he couldn't allow himself to think like that; she was a servant and he was a slave. There was no way that she would ever be interested in him.

"Oh please don't call me that," she said, seeming slightly embarrassed. "My name is Belle."

He looked at her, shocked that she would want him to call her by her name. "Slaves are not allowed to address others in such a manner," he informed her. "Now, can I help you with something?"

She moved into the room, placed down a bag she was carrying (no doubt it was for Gaston's fiancée) and startled him by helping him tidy up. "I need something to call you," she told him.

"You can just call me slave," he said as he focused even harder on making the bed. "Everyone else does."

"I think that's just cruel," she said. He looked up because of the concern and compassion in her voice. The only people who had ever spoken to him like that were Bae, Regina, and Henry. "Can I call you by your name?" He knew he should say no. The other servants would tease Belle to no end if she referred to a slave by his name. But by the way she spoke, he could tell it would probably hurt her more if he refused to tell her his name. He found himself looking at the floor as he mumbled his name. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," she said, moving in closer to hear him better.

He realized he had to speak louder if he wanted her to hear him. He drew in a deep breath and said, "Rumpelstiltskin." He looked up at her when she didn't say anything and saw her trying to mouth his name to herself. He knew his name was hard. In fact, people had just called him Rum when he was little but he had hated being associated with an alcoholic beverage.

Realizing she had been caught not understanding his name and seeing that he seemed kind of upset about it, Belle decided that she had to fix things, and fast. "Do you mind if I call you Rumple?" She had noticed him tense when she had started to suggest a nickname, but he relaxed when he heard what exactly her suggestion was.

"Rumple," he said, deciding that he liked it. "I should start telling all my friends to call me that." He realized that he was being kind of misleading since he only really had one adult friend and two friends total counting Henry.

"I'm glad I could help you come up with a nickname," she stated happily. He hadn't meant to include her in his friend group because he thought that might be offensive, but the way she glowed at him he realized that that was what she thought. That fact that she wanted to be his friend confused him, but he found himself liking it. Then her beautiful smile disappeared as she looked out the window. "Oh no, I'll be late. See you later!" Then she dashed out of the room to go wherever it was she had to be.

He stood motionless for a few minutes after she left, watching where she had disappeared. "See you later, Belle," he whispered to himself before he went back to work.

* * *

"No dad, it's too dangerous," Bae found himself telling the stubborn pirate.

"You and Emma are going," Hook argued. "Someone has to look after you!"

"Snow and Charming can do that just fine seeing as they aren't wanted criminals in the land of the LeGumes."

"I still don't think you should be going. They could hurt you two because of your son!"

Bae just shook his head. "They wouldn't risk the wrath of Snow and Charming. Even they aren't that stupid. And before you try to convince me further, this is the country I've searched the least in. I might be able to find my son, or maybe even my father. You can't deny me the chance."

"I suppose you're right Bae, I just don't want to lose you."

"Don't worry. The greatest pirate on all the seven seas taught me how to take care of myself." After a statement like that it was impossible for them not to end up hugging and struggling to fight back bittersweet tears for after all, pirates don't cry. But all too soon they had to part. "I'll see you back here in a few weeks," Bae told his dad as he walked out the door.

"You'd better be back here in a few weeks," the paranoid parent told the spot where his stepson had just been.

* * *

Henry sat in his basement trying to perfect a fireball spell. A few months ago he had managed to completely fireproof the house with a spell and now he wanted to learn something that could help him in a battle. He knew that one day he would have to fight a war to help all sorcerers, and he wanted to be prepared. He heard the cabin door upstairs open and he froze completely. It was too early for his mom to be home yet and his mind immediately jumped to soldiers.

Henry listened intently to the footsteps above, hoping that they wouldn't find the secret trapdoor. But then he heard the familiar tapping of a cane and he was halfway up the stairs by the time the trapdoor was open. "Grandpa!" he yelled happily as he launched himself into Rumple's arms. Rumple stumbled back a pace or two but managed to keep his footing. He chuckled as he hugged the boy back, savoring the precious gift that meant more to him than anything. "Why are you home so early?" Henry questioned, his voice muffled by Rumple's shirt.

"Gaston was too busy to constantly come up with other things for me to do like he normally does," Rumple explained. "So it looks like we get to have some time to play together."

"Yea!" Henry cheered happily as he pulled out of the embrace. "Let's go down in the basement so we can be loud!"

"Alright," Rumple chuckled as the boy practically dragged him into the basement. "What do you want to do?"

Henry pulled out two wooden swords that he had made with help from both his guardians a while ago. "Would it be okay if we sparred?" he asked. He didn't want to hurt his grandpa's leg, but he really wanted to get some practice with a sword.

"Okay Henry, but I will use my staff instead of a sword." Rumple had never really been good at handling swords and this way if his leg decided to give out in the middle of the fight he could catch himself.

"Sure," Henry agreed as he put the other sword back in its place. Soon the two were sparring with each other. Neither one was too terrible because Rumple had been able to pass on what little knowledge he had gained from fighting in the ogre wars. At first the two seemed evenly matched but then Henry started to win as he wore the older man down. It didn't help that Rumple's leg made him much less nimble than his grandson.

"I surrender," Rumple finally submitted, chuckling. He had had a good time but he didn't want to tire out his leg too much. Besides that he had wanted to surprise Regina by being the one to make their dinner tonight. "The valiant Knight Henry has proven to be my better on the battle field."

Henry grinned at that. "Do you really think I'm good?"

"Of course," Rumple responded. "I think you could become one of the greatest swordsmen the world has ever seen, if only we could find you a proper teacher." That was one of his greatest regrets about the way Henry had to be raised. Rumple knew if the boy had been born in Snow White's kingdom he would have had everything he could have asked for and more. As it was, he and Regina could hardly get away often enough to spend any kind of quality time with him, none the less teach him all the things a boy his age, and a prince at that, ought to know.

Henry didn't seem to realize this and right now his was beaming at his grandpa. "When I get older, I want to be a warrior sorcerer!"

"You'll make a great one," Rumple assured his grandson. "Now, all warrior sorcerers need to know how to cook so they don't starve when they are forced to travel on their own. Now, your mother tells me she taught you how, but a little practice never hurt anyone."

"Yea, we can surprise Mom with dinner!" Henry exclaimed. With that the two made their way up the stairs, each of them anxious to surprise the third member of their family unit.

* * *

"I told you there was something darker behind all this," Daniel asserted.

"Are you sure about this?" Robin asked his best spy. "Because if you're right, this will have some serious repercussions. I want to help, but I have to be sure this is the right thing to do."

"I understand," Graham told his leader. "I could hardly believe it either. But trust me; I double and even triple checked this. She is behind it."

"Then we have a big problem," Robin mused. "We can't beat her without wizards, and because of her, no wizard can use their magic!"

"Well, we are going to have to find a way," Daniel stated. "The fate of the whole enchanted forest is at stake."


	3. Complications

**Thank you to everyone who is reading my story and especially those who review. It really makes my day. Now I must tell you that I am about to start a summer research program and will not be able to update as much as I would like. I will try to write as much as possible, but we will see how it goes.**

Complications

Regina was walking home from the castle at her normal time. She was looking forward to seeing Henry, but she was not looking forward to making dinner. She often wished Rumpelstiltskin would do it sometimes, but Gaston kept him working so late that it wasn't really an option. As she was about to open the door she heard Henry say, "I hope she likes this."

"I know she will," Rumpelstiltskin responded and Regina gasped from outside. He was never home this early. She swung open the door to find the table set with three bowls of scrumptious- smelling stew. It looked like the boys had just finished setting the table as they were standing by it when she opened the door.

"This looks amazing," she said happily. They both jumped and turned upon hearing her voice. When he saw who it was, Henry ran up and hugged her. "It's not as easy to avoid being caught unawares as you thought, is it?" Regina asked her friend.

"At least we weren't making noise to draw attention," Rumpelstiltskin responded, although he did look rather sheepish. Before she could argue he continued and said, "But you're right; I guess we both just have to be more careful."

"Mom, look, we made stew!" Henry exclaimed happily as he dragged Regina over to the table.

"I see. It looks like you did a fabulous job."

"Well, let's taste it and see," Rumpelstiltskin proposed as he sat at the table. Regina could sense that he was apprehensive about how the meal turned out and it was no wonder; he hadn't been able to cook for years. He must have remembered more than he thought he did, however, because the stew was quite good.

"I am glad to be home," Regina told her family as she ate. "The castle is extra-crowded and busy because of the ball. I'm always glad when it's over, aren't you, Rumpelstiltskin?"

"Usually, but since Gaston's fiancée is here, he hasn't worked me anywhere near as hard as normal. That's why I came home early," he informed them. "Oh, and you can call me Rumple now, if you want," he told Regina, almost as an afterthought. But she didn't miss the way he looked off into the distance when he said that. Neither did Henry.

"Who came up with that?" Henry asked shrewdly.

"A maid I met today," Rumple said, and Regina detected a bit of red starting to show on his cheeks. "She's new and her name is Belle."

Regina had been about to take a bit of the stew but instead she found that her spoon had fallen to the ground. The other two looked at her in concern as she stared a Rumple in shock. Henry used magic to levitate the spoon back onto the table while his mom tried to recover. "Lady Belle is the woman engaged to Prince Gaston," she managed to inform her friend despite the fact that she was still in shock.

"So you mean a lady gave me a nickname today?" Rumple questioned, all color draining from his face as he remembered how he had talked to her.

"Cool!" Henry exclaimed, seeming unfazed by the new piece of information. This was because his guardians had done their best to make sure the boy felt inferior to no one. Also, the topic of nobles and the like was rarely brought up since neither adult was fond of it.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence," Rumple said hopefully although without much conviction. He felt extremely embarrassed that he had made such a mistake, but worse than that, he knew a slave could be brutally punished for such a thing.

"I don't think so," Henry said. "Maybe you two will fall in love and she will help save all us wizards."

"Where did that come from?" Regina asked, giggling a little at her son's imagination.

"I can tell that Grandpa has a crush on Belle."

"Lady Belle," Rumple corrected almost without thought. He was too busy trying to determine the repercussions this could have.

"I don't think she'd mind her future grandson calling her Belle," Henry mused.

"Don't get ahead of yourself there," Regina scolded. It was times like this that she was sure they would have to hide Henry away even if he didn't have magic; he would get himself killed for not knowing how to properly interact with people of a higher social class.

"That's right," Rumple agreed. "She's more likely to have me whipped or killed than she is to kiss me, let alone marry me."

"Well I still think it could happen," Henry argued back.

"And I'll live to be three hundred," Rumple scoffed. The family then got into a discussion about whether or not this Lady Belle would want to have anything to do with a slave. They were too busy to notice the bug that hopped off the windowsill. And there was no way they could have known that this bug had been there for a while and had seen Henry's levitation spell. The bug's friends were going to be very pleased when they heard about the boy who could do magic.

* * *

Belle finally got back to her room after an exhausting day with Gaston. He was an arrogant jerk and she hated having to be around him. She was just glad that she wasn't going to have to marry him like everyone expected her to. She went to her desk, pulled out a special quill, some ink, and some paper. Then she wrote. _I finished the day. Do you have any orders for me?_

Then words appeared on the page in answer. _You must find him soon. He is getting stronger._

This was a cause for concern. Belle frowned as she wrote her response. _Are you sure?_

_ Yes. You must identify him as quickly as possible._

Belle sighed. She had just started her mission. It would take time to discover the evil one that was going to try and take over the world. _I will try my best._

_ Good luck._

Belle got up from the desk, crumpling the piece of paper as she did so. She went over and tossed it in the fire. She couldn't risk such a thing falling into enemy hands. Then Belle went and collapsed onto her bed with a sigh. She just hoped she could find and help stop this evil before it was too late.

* * *

Rumple was terrified of meeting the lady again so he had tried to avoid her. He'd been doing well, until she came into her room after lunch to change into a riding outfit, since Prince Gaston was going hunting that day and no doubt wanted his lady to go with him. When Lady Belle walked into the room, Rumple was sweeping the floor. He jumped and spun around when he heard the door open, which caused her to giggle.

"Hello, Rumple," she greeted.

"My Lady," he responded, bowing his head. He would have gone down on his knees, but his leg had been really bothering him lately and kneeling did not help it in the slightest.

Lady Belle sighed. "I had hoped you wouldn't find out," she informed him. "I liked having one friend whom I knew cared about me for me."

Rumple was confused. No noble he had ever met would want to be friends with a merchant, let alone a slave. "I am sure some of the nobles care about you, my Lady."

She scoffed. "None that I've met. With nobles it's all about politics like who was born into a higher position and who has more money. None of them have ever truly wanted to talk with me to get to know me."

"That would be all the more true if you chose to associate with slaves, my Lady."

"Well at least the slaves will get to know me for me. If I make one friend it will be more than I have now."

He was shocked that she would want someone like him to be her friend. But he remembered how he had sensed that she would have been unhappy if he didn't let her be his friend the other day, and he knew that she felt the same way today. "Then I suppose you are the first lady to have ever made friends with a slave.

"Good," Belle replied, grinning at him.

"I'll let you get changed," he replied. As he walked out of the room, he marveled at the fact that he now had three friends, and one of them was a lady.

* * *

Red, Granny, and the seven dwarves sat around their table talking. "I still don't think Jiminy is going to find a wizard that can use magic," Grumpy stated. "They would have been found and collared by now."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Jiminy's voice came from the window sill. He hopped into the room and up onto the table. "I overheard a conversation. Two collared sorcerers have been hiding a magical boy. Maybe he could help."

"How old is he?" Granny questioned.

"Ten," Jiminy replied. Noise erupted out of the meeting room. Everyone was discussing and arguing and no one seemed completely convinced that a ten-year-old would be able to do much good.

"Hey!" Red yelled, getting everyone's attention. "It's better than nothing. I know we can't afford to wait until he grows up, but maybe he could learn how to do what we need him to now."

"I doubt it," Grumpy grumbled.

"Well, it's worth a try," Red said. As she looked around the table she saw that everyone agreed with that. "We will have to talk to this family as soon as possible."

* * *

_He moved his sword quickly to block a guard (who seemed to think the best way to find out what he had for dinner was to cut open his stomach) as he brought his staff down on the man's head, knocking him to the ground. Five soldiers who were either bold or stupid rushed him all at once. He simply slammed his staff into the ground and his magic had them all flying backwards. "Help!" the cry pierced the forest and he realized that his best friend was in danger. He teleported instantly to the spot where he knew his friend was._

_ "Hello, sorcerer," a woman said, smirking. She was next to his friend who seemed to be unharmed._

_ "Are you okay Your Majesty?" he asked wearily, sensing something was wrong._

_ "Much better now that my new friend has told me about your evil ways," the king replied, glaring daggers at the wizard. _

_ "Your new friend must be lying," he responded. "I have not done anything to warrant giving me the title of evil."_

_ The king was not satisfied. "Did you or did you not steal my orb?"_

_ The wizard narrowed his eyes and watched the woman closely. If she knew that, than she must be dangerous. "How did you learn that?" he asked._

_ "So you did do it!" the king exclaimed. _

_ "Sire, you now see that we must imprison him; for the sake of all our fellow men," the lady stated._

_ He knew this was not going to end well for the king seemed inclined to listen to this strange woman. He had to get away. He tried to teleport, but found he couldn't. "You're a sorceress," he realized._

_ "Yes, she is," the king said as he walked closer to his former friend, holding a golden collar in his hand. "Now I shall enslave you, for the good of all the realms."_

_ "No," he said softly, sadly. He took up a defensive stance, sword and staff at the ready. "I will not surrender willingly, for this witch has poisoned your mind against me, old friend."_

_ The king shook his head. "No, she has helped me see the truth."_

_ "I will not give up!" he cried, brandishing his sword to keep the king from coming any closer._

_ "You would attack your friend and king?" the lady questioned._

_ "I would do what is necessary to protect people, and I can hardly help others from a cell!" While he had been looking at her, the king had pulled something out of his pocket. Suddenly the wizard felt odd. He turned to look at the king and realized he was holding a bag of sleeping powder in his hand. The sorcerer fell to his knees, trying to fight the effects of the powder as his weapons slipped out of his hands. The last thing he saw before he slipped into unconsciousness was the lady. She was standing over him with a triumphant smile on her face._

Henry awoke from his nap with a start. He fought to get his breathing under control as he thought about the dream he had just had. What in the world could it mean? Had that really happened? Was the wizard the first person to ever be collared? Who was that lady? And if it did mean something important, why had he gotten the dream? Henry felt himself slipping off as he had those thoughts and decided to figure everything out later. There was only one problem; Henry had completely forgotten about the dream when he woke up.


	4. Surprises

**Hey everyone! I have been pretty busy but I somehow found time to post this. I will try to continue posting at least one a week. Thanks to everyone who has read, followed, and reviewed. It means a lot. Now I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Surprises

Gaston having a fiancée was really one of the best things that had ever happened to their family. Regina was so happy that Rumple was home more often. Right now he was upstairs making dinner and she was playing swords with Henry. But they both froze when they heard Rumple say, "Can I help you, My Lady?" Someone was in the house. Luckily Henry had sound-proofed the basement in such a way that those in the basement could hear what was going on upstairs, but not the other way around. Therefore, they could listen to the conversation.

They heard the lady say something, but they couldn't quite catch the words. Regina and Henry both moved up the stairs to get closer to the conversation. They were moving as quietly as they could despite the fact that they wouldn't be heard if they were shouting. "Yes, My Lady. One other slave lives here."

"Where is she?" they heard the reply. Regina stiffened. If someone was looking for her she would have to show up eventually. She couldn't do that without leaving the basement, which this odd visitor would surely see.

"I believe she went to visit someone, my lady," Rumple replied smoothly. Regina knew that the someone he was referring to was Henry. Rumple was of the belief that one should lie as little as possible, but he had no trouble with omitting facts. "She might be awhile. Perhaps you should come back later."

"Does anyone one else live here?" the noble questioned. Regina got really worried. Had they figured out about Henry?

"Well, there are some unwanted bugs that I have been trying to evict, my lady," Rumple responded. Despite the seriousness of the situation Henry and Regina found themselves giggling at Rumple's humor. Of course, it was one of the only things he could say without outright lying, but it was still funny.

"Are there any other humans living here?" the lady said, sounding unimpressed. Regina was getting more and more worried. This lady was being way to nosy for her liking.

"Regina and I are the only slaves that live here," Rumple replied. Regina could tell that he was getting nervous and was concentrating too hard on his word choice from the tone of his voice and the fact that he had forgotten to call her my lady.

"Yes, but do any people who aren't slaves live here?" the lady replied impatiently. She had to know something because no one would take the questioning this far otherwise.

"And why would anyone who was not a slave choose to live in a slave house, my lady?" Rumple replied. The tone of his voice shocked Regina; she had never heard him sound so foreboding and cold in her entire life. If she didn't know him, she would have guessed that he would be the last person you would want to get on your bad side.

"Perhaps they did not have a choice," the lady suggested. The tension was so high that Regina could almost imagine the two people upstairs staring each other down.

"Are you suggesting that I have kidnapped someone, my lady? Because as you can see, we are the only ones in the house at the moment."

"I know there is someone else here!" the lady exclaimed in frustration. "You start telling the truth!"

"I have done nothing but tell the truth since you arrived, my lady," Rumple replied. Regina knew that he would take the opportunity to tell her all about the values of getting around the truth after this. "Now, I do not know how you came about your information. Are you sure your source was reliable?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" the lady yelled angrily. "You are the most annoying person I have ever meet!"

"Then it seems your trip wasn't a complete waste after all," Rumple said. Henry was silently laughing but Regina was horrified. What would the lady do to him for his insolence?

"You're hopeless," another person spoke up. "You think yelling at him will get him to talk?"

"What else am I supposed to do?" the lady responded.

"I'm sorry, but who are you," Rumple asked the question Regina had been thinking.

"That's none of your business," the man responded. There was silence upstairs for a minute, and Regina was worried. She wished she could see what was going on.

"Who said that?" Rumple questioned all of a sudden, confusing his family. Regina and Henry exchanged a look, because they hadn't heard a thing. There was another pause longer than the last, and then Rumple said, "Well I suppose that's true. However it is almost time for my dinner so I must ask you to leave." He sounded weary.

"Come on, we can help you," the man asserted.

"I do not need any help, sir," Rumple replied.

"You would think a slave would be better about following orders," the lady remarked.

"And I would have thought a lady would have better manners," Rumple replied. Regina could hear the hint of anger in his voice and hoped the people left soon. Rumple had always had some anger management issues and she knew if he took it out on these people he would get in huge trouble.

"You're the one who needs to watch your manners!" the man replied. "We come here to try and help you and all you do is push us away!"

"I am not in need of your assistance, my lord," Rumple replied. "However your concern is quite touching." His sarcasm made Henry giggle, but not Regina. She was getting more worried by the second. Rumple seemed to be digging a rather deep hole for himself and she wasn't sure how he could get out of it.

"Come on, let's go," the lady said. "We aren't going to get anything out of him." The sound of footsteps and a door closing were meet with relief in the basement. Henry almost opened the trapdoor the minute the door closed, but Regina stopped him.

"We need to wait for your grandpa to come get us," she told the impatient boy. "They could still be lurking around outside the house or something."

"Alright," Henry agreed as he slumped against the railing. "Grandpa was pretty awesome and funny, wasn't he?"

"I suppose, but it was also foolish of him," Regina responded. "He could have gotten himself in big trouble." Henry was listening, but Regina could tell by the look on his face that he didn't really think that Rumple had done anything dangerous. "He could have gotten whipped, or even killed, for such insolence."

"I know, I know," Henry told her in a bored sort of way. Regina was starting to get very worried for her son.

"I want you to promise me that you will never do anything so stupid."

"If grandpa can do it, why can't I?"

"Your grandpa shouldn't have done that and he is going to be in big trouble as soon as we are out of here," Regina informed him, her face set in a scolding scowl.

"Okay, I promise I won't do something like that," Henry responded, scared straight by Regina's glare. At that her gaze softened. She was about to respond, when the trapdoor swung open.

"You two alright?" Rumple questioned when he saw them sitting on the top steps.

"We are, but Mom has it out for you," Henry gave his grandpa a heads-up while he slipped past him out of the basement.

"What were you thinking?" Regina asked him in her deadly quiet voice.

"I was trying to get them to leave as fast as possible." He looked confused as to why she was angry. For such a smart guy, he could be kind of dense at times.

"That's a great reason for you to be insolent and risk getting yourself killed," Regina responded sarcastically. Understanding dawned on Rumple's face.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's just that nobles always seem to rub me the wrong way. And honestly, I don't know why I said that stuff out loud. I usually just think it in my head."

"That is not a good excuse," Regina told him angrily. Rumple got a nervous look on his face and he took a step away from her. He opened his mouth to speak, but she wouldn't let him. "If something happened to you, I would get a new roommate and then it would be ten times harder to hide Henry. Did you ever think of that?"

"You're right; it won't happen again," Rumple assured her.

"It better not," she responded before moving to sit at the table.

"You got scolded," she heard Henry tease his grandpa as Rumple went over to finish making dinner.

"Yea, and you were a great help," Rumple responded.

"You might want to ease up on the sarcasm, Grandpa," Henry replied, trying to look as innocent as possible. "That's what got you in trouble in the first place."

"Thank you for that friendly advice Henry," Rumple responded as Regina silently laughed. "Might I return the favor? Teasing grandpas always results in a tickle monster attack!" He lunged, grabbing Henry before the boy got get away.

"No, please; I'm too old for this!" Henry pleaded as Regina started laughing out loud, Henry joining in as Rumple tickled him.

"Well then, you should have thought of that before you teased me!"

"Mom, help!" Henry cried between giggles.

"I know better than to go up against your grandpa," Regina responded from her position at the table. Rumple now had Henry on the floor and was kneeling next to him. As soon as Regina was sure that he didn't suspect her of anything, she started sneaking up behind Rumple. Right when she was about to start tickling him from behind, he turned suddenly and pulled her onto the floor next to Henry.

"Sneak attacks don't work on me, dearie," he scolded as he tickled both his victims at the same time.

"Then maybe a collaborative effort will!" Henry exclaimed. At that moment Regina and Henry pushed Rumple over and proceeded to tickle him. At least until Regina betrayed Henry, and soon a full out tickle fight ensued.

* * *

Graham and Daniel walked together in companionable silence. They were returning from a hunting trip and thus were dragging a rather good-sized buck back to the camp. Suddenly, Graham stopped in his tracks. "I hear something up ahead," he informed his friend. Once Daniel was listening for something, he could hear shouts and clanging in the distance.

"It sounds like our camp is being attacked!" Daniel responded. Leaving the deer carcass behind, the two men snuck through the trees in the direction of their camp. When they got closer they could see that there was a whole army of LeGume soldiers attacking the merry men. "We have to help," Daniel stated as he went to pull out his sword. But Graham stopped him.

"No; there is no way we can win this battle," Graham observed. "Our best chance at helping our friends is to remain free and try to rescue them later."

Daniel sighed. It made sense. "Fine, but if anything happens to them…"

"Don't worry. We will make sure that nothing happens to our comrades."

* * *

"I can't believe he didn't tell us anything!" Red exclaimed when they were back with Granny and the other dwarves. "We told him we wanted to help!"

"If you had been hiding a boy to keep him safe for ten years, would you tell a stranger about his existence?" Granny responded.

"I guess not," Red said with a sigh.

"I think I will give it a try next time," Granny said. "People tend to trust innocent old ladies more than they trust nosy girls and grumpy dwarves."

"Good," Grumpy replied. "That guy was just so annoying! It's really a wonder that his master hasn't killed him yet."

"No wonder he didn't respond well to you," Sneezy put in.

"Poor Jiminy must have been wincing throughout the whole conversation," Happy added.

"I don't know why we…" Sleepy started to say but he had to stop to yawn halfway through. "…sent you two in the first place."

"Maybe because we don't sneeze on someone or fall asleep in the middle of a conversation," Grumpy argued.

"Back to other topics," Red jumped in before the dwarves could argue anymore, "what if they refuse to let the boy go with you?"

"Then we are going to have to take him away from them by force," Granny stated fiercely.

* * *

Rumple groaned softly as he lay down on his mat that night. His leg was killing him from kneeling down during the tickle fight, but it was totally worth it. That had been the first time in a while that the whole family had played together like that. Who knew that weird strangers would be the ones to start such a fun evening?

"Are you okay?" Regina questioned. She had obviously noticed him favoring his leg more than normal.

"I just overdid it today," he confessed. Thinking on the conversation he had had, he asked, "Regina, have you ever heard of bugs talking?"

"No," she responded, giving him a confused look as she lay down on her mat which was a few feet away. "Why?"

"Well, I don't know how much you heard from the basement, but three strangers visited us today."

"Three? I only heard two people."

"I assume that you couldn't hear the cricket; he did talk kind of soft." At this Regina shot up to a sitting position and looked across the room at her best friend, trying to make out his features in the dark.

"You're saying that you met a talking cricket?"

"Yes," Rumple responded. "He told me that since he was obviously a magical creature I could trust him. He also said that they wanted to take Henry so he could have a better life. That's when I told them all to leave."

"That's what was going on during those periods of silence," Regina said as understanding dawned. "But, do you think they were telling the truth about wanting to help Henry?"

"I'm not sure, and it's been bothering me. If they really are trying to help, they could get Henry a much better life. But if not …"  
"Henry would be collared, or even killed," Regina completed his thought as she lay back down on her mat. "I think we should keep Henry a secret, from everyone. We just can't risk something bad happening."

"I agree. It's just that I could never forgive myself if I denied Henry a better life simply because I'm paranoid."

"Better to be paranoid and alive than carefree and dead."

"I suppose, but we ought to fill him in on the whole conversation. Since it was about him, he has a right to know," Rumple stated.

"We can tell him tomorrow," Regina agreed sleepily. "Have a good night's sleep."

"You too," Rumple stated. He still felt very inadequate about how he was raising Henry. The boy deserved so much more than what he and Regina could provide. Maybe this year he could finally corner Queen Snow White and King Charming and get them to take their grandson back to their castle, his parents, and the life he deserved.

* * *

_He awoke in chains. How could they do this to him? How could the king do this to him? It had all started with that stupid blue orb. How could the king have let that come between their friendship? Just then the door to his cell opened and the sorceress from before walked in. And then it hit him. She had known about the orb._

"_You are the one who made the orb, aren't you?" he questioned._

"_So you are as smart as people say. I'm impressed."_

"_You were doing all this to get at me," he guessed. " Why?"_

"_You are too powerful, and power corrupts. I am merely taking actions to prevent you from using your powers to destroy the world. I am helping people."_

_The wizard scoffed. "If that is truly your motive you should worry more about yourself. I have shown no signs of using my powers for evil while you have manipulated and deceived the king into thinking that I am a traitor!"_

"_Oh, but there is one major difference between us. And I would tell you what it is, but then I wouldn't get to see how smart you truly are."_

"_Why did you come down here? It wasn't just to talk about how evil I am."_

"_You're right again," she said as she leaned in closer. "Tell me where your apprentices are."_

_His eyes widened in shock. Did she think they were threats too? "What, you can't find them?" he questioned._

"_They all went into hiding after I caught you," she told him icily._

_He chuckled. "They always were quite clever."_

"_Where are they?" she asked again, not at all happy with the note of pride in his voice._

"_How should I know? They are in hiding, and if they use their brains like I taught them, they will hide in places I don't know about. After all, I am the one missing. They know I could be forced to give out information."_

"_That may be true, but they also want to be somewhere that you could find should you escape. So I shall ask you one last time, where are your apprentices?"_

"_Not telling," he responded. He knew that she was most likely going to torture him to get the information, but his friends were more important._

"_Perhaps not yet; but you shall tell me eventually," she said. She held out her hand and pain unlike any he had ever experienced tore through his body._

"Bae!" Emma yelled again as her husband moaned next to her.

"What's wrong?" he questioned as he sat up to look at her. "Are we being attacked?"

Emma looked back at him, dumbfounded. "No, you were having a nightmare."

It was Bae's turn to look confused. "No, I wasn't. Are you sure you weren't just having a nightmare about me having a nightmare?"

"Positive," Emma said back. "Are you sure you don't remember having a nightmare?"

"You know I wouldn't lie to you about something like that."

"Of course not," she consented. "But this is one of the oddest things I have heard of."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it," Bae pointed out. Emma agreed and they decided to just go back to sleep. However, both were a little uneasy about the forgotten nightmare.

* * *

_He's getting stronger. _

Belle stared at the piece of paper and sighed. _You've told me._

_He must be stopped soon._

Seriously? Her time was being taken up so she could be informed about things she already knew. _I am trying my hardest,_ she wrote back.

_Hurry._

_I'm going to bed._

_Good. You will need your rest. Find him soon._

_Goodnight, _Belle responded and then threw the paper in the fire before they could respond back. She was kind of annoyed. Why couldn't they just let her do her job and trust her to do it right? She flopped on her bed in exhaustion. She really hoped that she would find the evil one tomorrow, if only so that they would stop bugging her.


	5. Connections

**Hello everyone. Sorry it took me so long to update this time. There was a family crisis and between that and my summer research, it has been hard finding time to write. Now as for this chapter, some of the characters may be acting differently than they did on the show (mainly Granny), but this is an alternate universe. So, with all that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Bae stood up on deck, looking out over the waves. He was trying to remember the dream Emma had said that he had last night. It bothered him that she had woken him up in the middle of a nightmare and he couldn't remember a thing. Weren't you supposed to not be able to forget your nightmares?

"Hey," Emma greeted as she came to lean on the railing next to him. He just nodded back. "You know, I'm a wizard. I could look in your brain to see if I could dig out that dream." Leave it to Emma to know exactly what was bothering him. Then again, it was probably bothering her too.

"You shouldn't talk about that," Bae cautioned her. "We are in LeGume waters now, and one of their ships could come and search ours for no reason at all."

"But this is bothering both of us," Emma argued. "We need to figure out what is going on."

Bae shook his head. "You can't do magic here Emma. I can't lose you."

Emma could see the pain in his eyes. She knew that he was thinking of his father and their son. "Okay," Emma consented. "This can wait until after we get back."

Bae nodded gratefully before looking back out over the sea in the direction of the country that they should be able to see in a few hours. He felt odd. He knew that he had been the one to tell Emma to wait, but he had this feeling that the dream was really important. Maybe it was some sort of vision? He pushed that thought aside. If anyone was going to have visions it would be Emma. In fact, Emma had probably been having a dream about him having nightmares. Yes, that made sense. He was able to convince himself of that, for the most part. A small voice in his head still proclaimed that he had had a nightmare, that it was important, and that he would regret not knowing what he had dreamed.

* * *

Henry was feeling weird this afternoon. Truth be told, he had been feeling weird since this morning. He kept feeling like he had forgotten something. However, try as he might, he could not think of what it might be. That is why he was sitting in the middle of his basement, legs crossed and eyes closed. He was trying to use a spell to reach into his own mind and pull forward whatever it was that he had forgotten. Therefore, he was completely quiet, concentrating. He was so quiet that he heard the footsteps of the person before they even reached the door.

Henry froze up (not that he had been moving in the first place) and listened intently as the door squeaked open. "Hello!" someone called from upstairs. "Is anyone home?" It was a female voice, but it sounded … unusual. Perhaps it was an older lady. Henry had never heard an older person speak before, but from what his guardians had said, they were quite different than middle-aged adults. At least that's what Grandpa said whenever Mom called him old. He always claimed to be middle-aged.

"Please, I'm wounded," the woman called out. "I need some help!" What was he to do? His guardians had always told him not to let anyone see him. In fact, they had given him another lecture about it this morning after they had explained that the weird people who had come by the other day had wanted to take him away. However, they had also taught him to be kind and caring. How could they expect him to sit down here in the basement while there was someone in the house that needed his help? "I won't survive without help," the woman spoke, sounding weak. That was the last straw. Henry dashed up the stairs of the basement and flung open the trapdoor. He was greeted by the sight of a white-haired woman holding a crossbow that was pointed right at him.

* * *

Rumple was straightening up Belle's room when she walked in. He smiled at the sight of her, but then frowned as he noticed the frustrated look on her face. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she sighed as she went and sat down in her chair by the writing table.

"I can tell you're not," he informed her as she stared at the window. She turned to look at him. He could sense that she was about to protest, so he cut her off. "Look, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But if you let me, I could try to help you."

"That's really very nice of you," Belle responded. "Actually, do you know any slaves that can be mean or cruel?"

Rumple frowned. Why would Belle want to know something like that? He thought that she wanted slaves to be treated better. Why would she gather information on how bad they could be? Maybe she wasn't; she could be expecting him to say he knew no one like that (which he didn't actually know any mean slaves). It felt kind of odd, but he stated, "The only people I have seen that fit that description are nobles, guards, and the occasional peasant or merchant."

"Oh," Belle sighed as she turned back to the window. She sounded disappointed. Rumple started to think something might be wrong, and then he got a splitting headache. That was really strange; he almost never got headaches. And when he did they usually came on slowly, not all of a sudden like this one had. He wondered if he might be getting sick. Regina claimed that he was always more grumpy and paranoid when he was ill.

"That's not to say that most of us wouldn't try to take down the LeGumes if we ever got free," he remarked to Belle, hoping if he talked more Belle might decide to tell him exactly what was going on.

"That's understandable," Belle replied. But she still seemed kind of distant. Then, his headache increased and he felt the odd need to go back to his house. And his feeling that he ought to go home had occurred just a second before his headache had increased in intensity.

"I have another job I have to do," he told Belle, letting his paranoia guide him. Because his symptoms were starting to seem like magic. And there was only one person he knew of that could use magic; a ten-year-old boy who was alone in his house right now. Henry must be in trouble.

"Oh wait, I'm sorry," Belle said, seeming to snap out of her thoughts. "I haven't really been much of a conversationalist this afternoon, have I?"

"No, but that's not why I'm leaving," he assured her. He could tell she felt bad. "I really do have something I have to do."

"Okay. See you tomorrow?"

"I hope so," Rumple said as he departed the room. At first he tried to walk as normally as possible so no one would expect anything. But as soon as he was out of sight, he took off in a run, ignoring his protesting leg. He had to make sure his boy was alright.

* * *

Regina kept glancing out the window towards her house every five seconds as she brushed Princess Claire LeGume's hair. She had been feeling anxious to get home for the past five minutes, and she couldn't really tell why. She had decided it must be because of the strangers that had been at her house yesterday. She had then assured herself that no one would come to get Henry. Even if they did, Henry was smart and knew the rules. He would never let himself be kidnapped. That rational thought did nothing to prevent her from looking out the window at regular intervals.

"Is something bothering you, Regina?" her mistress questioned. However much Regina hated being a slave, she had to admit that Claire was a kind mistress.

"It's just, something happened yesterday that unsettled me, Your Highness," Regina remarked, her mind whirling. She had to figure out a way to explain how she was feeling without revealing Henry's existence. "Some people came by the house. They wanted to take something that belongs to me. I'm afraid they will come back and take it today while I am working." There; half-truths. Rumple would be so proud of her.

"Well, I won't require any more assistance after you finish brushing my hair," Claire commented. "You could go home then."

"Thank you so much, Your Highness," Regina replied as she began to focus more on her task. The sooner she finished the sooner she could be home. And the sooner she got home, the sooner she would see if Henry was alright.

* * *

Graham and Daniel had followed the captured Merry Men all the way to the ocean. They were confused as to why they were going here instead of back towards the castle. All of their snooping and spying had yet to give them an answer or provide a feasible way to help their comrades escape. To be fair, the Merry Men had been captured for less than twenty-four hours, but Daniel was getting impatient. He wasn't used to info-gathering missions like Graham, and he was starting to get anxious for results. "I wish we could get them out right now," he whispered to Graham. As he did so he shifted slightly, and the bush they were in jostled a bit.

"Be careful," Graham hissed back, fearful of being caught. "And be patient; we will be able to help them eventually."

"I know, I know. I just wish we could find some information." It was as though his words had set events into motion, for just then there was a loud crack, and some smoke. When it cleared they could see a figure cloaked in black standing in the middle of the campsite.

"Good work," a female voice slipped out from under the hood, sending chills down the backs of the spies. At first they had been thinking of recruiting the magic user, but when they heard the scary tone of voice she used, both men knew that it wasn't an option.

"My Lady, we have taken a count of the people and there are two less then you said would be here," one of the guards informed her.

The lady's gaze swept over all of the prisoners. "The hunter and the stable boy," she mused. Daniel and Graham looked at each other in shock. How had she known that much about them? "It is no matter," the sorceress continued. "We shall catch them eventually."

"What are you going to do to us?" Robin spoke up. The spies could tell that he was also disconcerted about how much she knew.

"You shall be thrown in prison so that you cannot get in my way," the lady replied. "I am close to discovering the one who can stop me, and I can't have you interfering." The lady raised her arms and suddenly, all the prisoners disappeared. "Now guards, find the ones that escaped!"

Daniel and Graham exchanged a look. "They are going to find the wizard," Graham stated. "We have to make sure we find him first.

* * *

"Sorry, you startled me," the old woman said as she pointed the crossbow away from Henry. "You can never be too careful with all the guards around." Henry wasn't completely convinced he could trust her. All the warnings his guardians had ever given him came crashing back into his brain.

"You're not actually hurt," he observed, his worry mounting. He should never have left the basement.

"Forgive me," the lady begged. "I just really wanted to meet you."

"You work with the people from yesterday and you want to take me away," Henry accused as all the facts came together in his head. She was about to say something, but he interrupted her. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"Won't you at least hear me out?"

"Maybe I would have, if you hadn't tricked me! Now I can't trust you!"

"We only want what's best for you," she started trying to explain.

"I don't care," Henry retorted. He was angry at her for tricking him and wanting to take him away from the only home he knew. He also feared that she would take him away, whether he went willingly or not. "You should go."

"Just hear me out," the woman pleaded. But just then, the door burst open. Henry and the lady both started and the woman pointed the crossbow at the man. The man who was using a cane.

"Grandpa!" Henry exclaimed, feeling relieved that he was back.

"Henry, who's this," he asked wearily. The old lady still had her crossbow aimed at Rumple.

"She's with the people from the other day," Henry stated. "I'm sorry, I knew that I shouldn't have come up here, but she was claiming to be hurt." Rumple glared at the lady angrily.

"Why are you after Henry?" he questioned, aware that whoever this was still had her crossbow trained on him.

"He is the only free wizard," the lady explained. "If the evil that is holding all you sorcerers captured is to be defeated, we will need a wizard on our side. Henry is our only choice."

"You're saying you want a ten-year-old boy to play a major part in a war?" Rumple asked in shock. He sounded angry at the very idea, but Henry was getting excited. They didn't want him for some sinister plot, they wanted him to help save the world. He had always wanted to be a hero, and this was looking like his big chance.

"It's the only way," the lady responded.

Rumple's eyes flashed angrily as he regarded the old woman in front of him. The woman still had her weapon trained on him. "If Henry truly is the only person who can save everyone, than you are going to have to wait until he grows up," he stated.

"No, Grandpa," Henry protested. "I want to help!"

"A good warrior knows when he is ready to face certain foes, Henry," Rumple argued back. "You have not yet learned all the skills you will need. And besides that, I still do not trust our visitor."

"If she puts the crossbow down will you consider it?" Henry asked. He was starting to sound like Bae had whenever he had begged to go to the fair.

"She came into our house, tricked you, and has been pointing her weapon at me for the past few minutes. I'm sorry, but she has done nothing to warrant me trusting her, and putting down her weapon will do little to change that."

"Do you want this evil to continue?" the woman questioned.

"Not at all, but I am not so sure that you aren't evil."

"Henry," the lady said, her eyes never leaving Rumpelstiltskin, "do you want to come with me?"

"Um…" he responded, not knowing what to do. He wanted to be brave and help save the world, but what if his grandpa was right? What if he wasn't ready, or this lady was lying? He wouldn't help anyone if one of those things were true.

"I'll take that as a yes," the woman stated. "Now move aside!" she told Rumple.

"Sorry dearie, not happening," he responded in his best I'm-not-scared voice.

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to force you." She pulled the trigger to the crossbow, and the bolt was coming straight at him. He had known what she was planning, however, so he managed to step to the side. Time seemed to slow as the arrow grazed his right shoulder. Time stayed slow as he continued to watch the arrow and saw where it would end up next. Regina was standing there, a shocked look forming on her face even as he reached he hand up. He wished he hadn't moved out of the way. The arrow was going to hit her. He didn't want that. Time was still moving slow, so much so that he had wondered about it for a brief second before focusing back on the situation. Regina was going to die, unless the arrow would just disappear. And then pain slammed into him and he screamed, unaware of the other person who was also crying out in pain.

* * *

They had just gotten through all the security required to go onto LeGume territory and had settled into a carriage that would take them to the castle. Emma was relieved that they had made it; she had been sure that they would stop her and figure out she had magic. But they hadn't.

Suddenly, Bae collapsed screaming on the floor of the carriage. Emma went down on her knees next to him as her parents both looked out their windows to see if they could spot any attackers. None could be found. And after a quick examination, it was obvious that the still screaming Baelfire had not received any external injuries, besides a few bumps and scraped he had gotten when he fell.

Emma looked up at her parents, afraid for her loved one. "What's happening to him?" she asked. No one could find an answer.

* * *

Regina ran forward and grabbed the crossbow from the old lady before she could load it again. The two boys lay screaming on the floor, and she could not figure out why. She had a guess for Rumple, he had used magic to make the arrow disappear. The collar that was supposed to prevent magic could also punish one who somehow managed to use it, or so it was said. Regina had never heard of a collared magician using magic before. However, if that was the case for Rumple, it did not explain why Henry was on the floor screaming in pain as well.

"What's going on?" the old lady asked her, seeming just as confused. That made Regina remember how they lady had shot at Rumple. It was because of her that he had used magic, so she had caused this situation.

"You caused this," she accused, and the lady's eyes widened. "He used magic to save me from you, and then they both collapsed like that. This is all your fault." She was angry, and she was speaking in a calm and deadly manner. This lady was horrible, trying to steal Henry and hurt Rumple. Regina knew she had to do something, but she was still debating what when suddenly, everything went dark.

* * *

Graham and Daniel had fled the scene as soon as possible. They were now wandering through the forest, trying to avoid guards. "Where exactly is this wizard?" Daniel questioned.

"I'm not sure," Graham admitted.

"How are we supposed to find him?"

"I'm not sure."

"Do you even know where we are going?"

"Nope." Daniel was about to get angry at his friend when suddenly a scream filled the forest. Daniel had expected it to stop after a second, or at least decrease in volume, but it did not.

"Do you think we should investigate that?" Daniel questioned.

This was a question Graham actually had an answer for. "Absolutely."

* * *

The dwarves all collaborated to carry the squirming and screaming Henry back towards their hideout. "He is going to be mad when he wakes up, and rightly so," Jiminy told everyone. "This is not a good way to get people to help us."

"What were we supposed to do?" Red questioned. "Time is running out."

"Well, I would not have recommended attacking the boy's parents and kidnapping him," Jiminy responded. "He will probably not help us at all. We have done nothing to gain his trust."

"It was necessary," Granny asserted. "Now that we have Henry, we can make him see that we are good guys."

"You are just like the wind that tried to make a traveler take off his clothes by blowing harsh winds his way. It only resulted in the man putting on more coats."

"Don't quote Aesop's fables to me," Granny said. "I know what I'm doing."

"For the sake of everyone in the Enchanted Forest, I hope you do."

* * *

Belle was going for a walk out in the grounds when she heard the screaming. It was extremely loud, and whoever was creating the sound must be in great pain. She ran towards the noise, and found a bunch of slaves gathered outside a slave hut. "What's going on?" she questioned. When they saw her, the slaves shrunk back and made a clear path for her to follow to the front of the crowd. When she got there, she saw an old slave lady looking over an unconscious woman. But what caught her eye was the several men trying to hold down a screaming slave so he would not hurt himself as he thrashed around. That slave was Rumpelstiltskin.

She suddenly thought of something and pulled out the compass that she usually tried to keep hidden around others. The arrow pointed right towards Rumple. She froze in horror. No, it couldn't be him. It had to be a mistake. But the arrow stubbornly remained where it was, pointing accusingly at the man screaming on the ground.

* * *

He was screaming in pain. _"I will never tell you!"_ Pain was coursing through both his bodies. Wait, was it possible to have two bodies? _"I won't betray my friends!"_

_ "Too bad one of them already betrayed you," the sorceress scoffed._ _Then, to his surprise, his daughter-in-law stepped into the room. _Why would Emma… no, this couldn't be Princess Emma. Emma had blond hair and this lady's hair was brown._ He had never thought she would betray him. _He didn't even know who she was. Or did he?

_"I trusted you!" he cried._

_ "You always were too trusting," the girl responded. _No, I've always been paranoid.

_"Who all did you help her catch?" he questioned._

_ "Your son." _Bae? No, wait, they were talking about his other son.

_"You betrayed your own husband?" he questioned. "Did you betray your son as well?" _Fear welled up in him for Henry. No, they weren't talking about Henry.

_"I did, but he got away."_

_ "Clever boy," he said proudly. _Yes, that was the same. He was proud of both his grandsons. _"You needed all of us, didn't you?" he questioned the main evil leader._

_ "Yes," she replied. "I need all of you to stop this evil. But don't worry, I will find him eventually."_ She still doesn't have all of us. She lost us. He knew she had, but he didn't know how he knew that.

_"By the time you find my descendants, they will be ready for you," he retorted. _I think we might be ready. _"It is their fate to stop you."_ We will certainly try.

_"No, I will crush them! And you will pay for continuing to resist me!"_ Pain was the last thing both of him felt before he blacked out.


	6. Making Friends

**Sorry that it's late again. I've been really busy with my research project. But, here it is! I would like to thank everyone who reads, especially those who follow and review. It really makes my day to see that. I would also like to thank my mom and ZizhunWriter for beta reading. Go check out ZizhunWriter's stories, Kidnapped and Twice Cursed. They are really good!Also, if anyone wants to do a cover for this story, I would love that. So, here's the story. I hope you enjoy it.**

He woke with the worst headache he had ever felt. He supposed that didn't mean much, since he had only lived ten years. "Mom," he groaned. He was quite startled to see that the lady who came over to check him was not him mother. Everything came crashing back all at once, and he jumped to his feet, trying to ignore the way it made his head spin. "You almost killed my grandpa!" he yelled angrily.

"You need to calm down," the young lady who had come over to him stated. "You've been having spasms for a while now, and you shouldn't push yourself."

Henry's head was spinning too much. He didn't really hear what she said, but he didn't care. They had taken him away from his family without his consent, and he was not going to let that stand. "I want to go home," he demanded.

"It's not safe back there," the lady protested.

"I don't care! I want my mom and grandpa!"

"That's not an option," a familiar voice joined the conversation. Henry turned around to see the old lady standing there. His anger only grew.

"You almost killed my family! Or did you finish them off while I was unconscious?" Fear started to take control. Is that what she had meant when she said that was no longer an option?

"Of course we didn't," she said, sounding offended. He didn't know why she had any reason to be offended, given that she had tried to kill his grandpa. "We just left them behind. They would have been tracked by their collars."

"So you're telling me that when you shot that crossbow bolt at my grandpa you weren't trying to kill him?"

"No, I wasn't," she said. "If he hadn't moved, the arrow would have penetrated a point in the shoulder where no major arteries were located."

"Oh, so you were going to forgo killing and seriously injure instead. How thoughtful of you," Henry responded, using some sarcasm he had picked up from Rumple.

"This is war," the elder lady told him. "I don't have time to play nice."

"If you are going to treat my grandpa as an enemy, I'm going to treat you as an enemy."

"What we are doing will help all the slaves. You must want that."

"If you are telling the truth about that, than why did you attack my grandpa?"

"I felt it necessary."

"That's not a good enough reason for me," Henry told her. "I won't help you people unless my family thinks it's a good idea. So if you want to have any hope of me helping you, you have to take me back."

"In time you will help us," the old lady said. "Until then, you are in our charge and will have to do as we say."

"That's a great way to earn trust," Henry replied sarcastically. No one seemed to care.

* * *

Daniel and Graham reached the carriage a few minutes after the screaming stopped. They got there just in time to hear the man waking up. "What happened?" a guy asked. "Did I go unconscious? I have the worst headache."

"Bae, you were having spasms and screaming in pain," a woman told him.

"What? No, it couldn't be," the man called Bae responded. Daniel looked at Graham. The hunter knew much more about this sort of thing than he did.

"Well, we all saw it," another man jumped in.

"I don't remember anything like that," Bae argued, sounding very confused. Graham pulled out a compass and Daniel watched as it pointed toward the carriage.

"North is the other way, isn't it?" Daniel asked in confusion.

"This is a special compass," Graham informed him as he started to move toward the carriage.

"First weird dreams, and now this?" the woman questioned Bae. "I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it."

"Excuse me," Graham called out, alerting the people to their presence. A man poked his head out of the carriage window. "We couldn't help but hear someone screaming. Are you all okay?"

"We're all fine," the man said. He wasn't the one called Bae.

"Oh, okay," Graham replied. "It's just, the scream sounded an awful lot like the scream I heard my friend utter one time. He kept having nightmares and visions that wouldn't go away. It took us ages to figure out how to help him. I was thinking I could pass on some of the information we learned to people in need. But if everyone here is fine…"

A woman with short black hair poked her head out of the window. "Where are you two headed?"

"Our navigator," Daniel replied, giving a pointed look at Graham, "is not sure."

"Then, would you like to ride with us for a while?" Daniel knew that is what Graham had been hoping for, and he was starting to see why. The man in the carriage was most likely the one who they were supposed to find and protect.

"We would love to."

* * *

Regina woke with a start. A quick look around told her that she was alone with another person in her house. "Mom?" she asked, surprised.

"It's been too long," Cora told her daughter. "I had to come here and take care of you when I heard you were hurt. And don't worry, I got excused from my normal duties."

"What happened?"

"Your friend had some sort of spasm attack and he was screaming quite loudly. It attracted a large crowd, and we found you unconscious. I think you might be better able to tell me what happened."

Regina wanted to tell her mother everything. However, she and Rumple had thought it best to keep Henry a secret from everyone. Therefore, her mom didn't know Henry existed and Regina could not change that now. "Sorry, I'm not entirely sure." That was true; she had no idea why Henry had fallen over screaming, and she had no idea where he was now. She had a small hope that he had somehow made it to the basement before anyone had seen him, but she knew that was just false hope. It would make much more sense if the old lady and her friends had taken him.

"Well, your friend seems to have landed himself in some deep trouble," Cora informed her.

"What? Why?"

"I'm not sure. All I know is that he has been brought to the castle and the nobles have all been closed up in meetings." They must have known that he had used magic.

"That can't be good," Regina commented. Fear was threatening to take control. Both her men were gone. One was kidnapped, and the other was in deep trouble. Both had been in agony before and now she had no way to make sure either was okay.

"Don't worry," Cora tried to reassure her. "Rumpelstiltskin has always been well-behaved. He can't have done anything too bad." Regina found herself wishing that were true, even though she knew that Rumple had never behaved well (considering his rescue of Henry as a baby). She also knew, he would be lucky if he lived to see another day.

* * *

"Good work," Belle's friend told her. "I knew you could track down the evil wizard."

"What are you going to do to him?" Belle couldn't help but ask. She knew Rumpelstiltskin was an evil wizard, but he had just seemed so nice. She just couldn't bear the thought of something bad happening to him.

"Whatever it takes to keep him from completing his evil plans," the sorceress responded. "You did a good thing today, Belle. The world will now be safe. You should get some rest while I go and deal with all the noblemen, oka?"

"I suppose you're right," Belle consented. The sorceress beamed and gave her a pat on the back before telling Belle she'd see her later and walking out. That had been several hours ago, and now Belle was getting bored and curious. So she decided to go see what they were talking about in the meeting. As she approached the room where the meeting was taking place, the doors opened and several nobles left. However, Belle did not see the king, Gaston, or any of the highest ranking people leave, which meant something top secret was going on. Belle was so curious and she just couldn't resist. She slipped into the room right before the door closed and quickly hid behind a tapestry.

"So, what are you really going to do to him?" she heard Gaston asked. "I mean, keeping him locked up 'for the good of everyone' just doesn't seem to be your style."

"Very true," the sorceress replied. "I need him alive until I can find every living person in his bloodline. Then, I will kill him." Belle was horrified. Her friend was going to kill Rumple! And for what? Belle had now realized that the whole evil wizard thing was a hoax, designed so the sorceress could get what she wanted. Belle never should have trusted the sorceress.

"What was that?" King Pendule asked, and Belle realized that she had gasped. She heard chairs scrape against the floor and several footsteps approaching her direction. She made a dash for the door, but then her whole body froze up and she realized that the sorceress must have used magic to stop her from leaving.

"I told you not to come to the meeting, Belle," the sorceress told her, and evil light shining in her eyes. Belle didn't know how she had missed it before; the sorceress practically radiated evil. "It's too bad really. I was going to let you live your life normally. Oh, well. I suppose having one more prisoner to play with won't be that bad." Belle opened her mouth to say something, but then smoke enveloped her and she was whisked away.

* * *

Introductions had been made, and Daniel was quite glad that this was Snow White, King Charming, their daughter Emma, and her husband Baelfire. Everyone knew that they hated the way the LeGumes treated their magical slaves. "So, you all aren't opposed to magic users?" Graham questioned them.

"Not really, but don't tell the LeGumes that," Charming told them.

"Good to hear it," Graham told the king. "You see, my friend who had the same problems you are having, Baelfire, was a wizard."

"Okay," Bae responded, "but I'm not."

Daniel looked over at Graham. If the man didn't have magic, he couldn't be the one they were supposed to protect. Graham pulled out the compass for everyone to see. It pointed straight at Baelfire. "I hate to argue with you, put this compass says otherwise."

"That compass detects magic?" Emma questioned. If Daniel didn't know any better, he would say she sounded nervous.

"It detects a special kind of magic," Graham told her. "It is a family magic. Baelfire comes from a long line of very powerful wizards."

Bae snorted at that. "Sorry to disappoint you, but neither my mom or my dad ever showed any signs of being a great wizard."

Graham frowned. "This doesn't make any sense. Everything else points to the fact that you are one of the wizards."

"Maybe the magic has been laying dormant for a while?" Snow suggested.

"That would make sense," Daniel agreed. "After all, she would have been able to find them so much easier if they were displaying their magic all the time."

"That's a good point," Graham agreed. "But how do we awaken his magic?"

"Wait, who's this she you are talking about?" Baelfire asked.

"A very powerful sorceress," Graham answered. "She has been after your family for a while now." Everyone seemed to accept that answer and the conversation moved forward. However, Daniel couldn't help but think that they should tell the family exactly who the sorceress was. He knew it would be hard for them to believe, but they still had a right to know. But just then Emma suggested getting something to eat, and Daniel readily agreed to that, forgetting his misgivings.

* * *

Henry had been listening to his captors all day, and he had quickly realized that if anyone was going to help him, it would be the cricket. Jiminy seemed to think that they shouldn't have kidnapped him at all. That should make it easy to convince the cricket to help him escape.

So, while the others were off doing various tasks, Henry approached him. "Hello, Jiminy," he greeted.

"Hey, Henry," he responded. "Look, I'm really sorry all this happened."

"If that's true, then help me escape."

"Well …"

"You've been kidnapped?" someone questioned. Both Henry and Jiminy jumped and turned to see a girl and a boy standing in the doorway. But what really caught Henry's attention was that the boy was made of wood.

"Pinocchio?" Jiminy asked.

"I'm sure Jiminy will help you!" Pinocchio stated. "He's the nicest guy I ever met."

"Don't worry," the girl replied. "We'll help you too. My father would never let someone stay kidnapped."

"Mine either," Pinocchio stated. "So let's get out of here before your kidnappers get back!"

"Are you coming with us?" Henry questioned Jiminy. He wasn't sure if the cricket was going to help them or stay loyal to his friends.

"Of course. I told Granny she never should have forced you to come. I will help you Henry."

"Yippee!" Pinocchio cheered. And with that the four of them made their way back towards the girl's and Pinocchio's fathers. Henry just hoped that eventually, he could make his way back to his family.

* * *

Robin's group started when a woman appeared all of a sudden in the large holding area they were being kept in. Robin and the other warriors approached her. "Did the sorceress catch you, too?" Robin questioned.

"Yes," the lady agreed. "But I was such an idiot! She tricked me into helping her! And by the time I figured out, it was too late." She was putting a tremendous effort towards not crying.

"Well, you now know she's evil," Robin told her. "Maybe there is something you can do to fix your mistake."

"I don't think he could ever forgive me."

"If he's a good friend, he will," Roland spoke up. He had come to stand beside his father during the exchange. The woman looked down at him and smiled.

"You are very smart," she told him.

"Daddy taught me everything I know," he said, looking up at Robin. Robin smiled down at him.

"Would you like some food?" Marian asked. "All they gave us is some porridge, but…"

"That would be lovely," the lady said. As they went to go eat, Robin thought about what she had said. This woman had betrayed someone. He really hoped it wasn't the wizard that was supposed to beat the sorceress. If it was, they were all in trouble.

* * *

He woke to find someone kneeling down next to him. He glanced up and saw it was Felix. "Are you alright?" the head Lost Boy asked him, looking concerned.

He ignored the question and sat up. That, of course, only caused his headache to worsen. He ignored that, too. "I wonder who finally did it," he mused to himself. "It can't have been my son; he was too weak. Maybe a grandchild; they would have had to be strong growing up with Rumpelstiltskin as a father."

"What are you talking about, Peter?" Felix questioned.

"Ready the Lost Boys," Peter said as he stood up, continuing to ignore his throbbing head. "We have a war to fight."

* * *

He groaned as he woke. He instantly realized that something was not right. He was in a standing position. His eyes shot open to get a visual on the chains he felt on his ankles and wrists, but he was met with complete darkness. He strained his eyes to try and see something, but all that did was cause his already horrific headache to worsen. He closed his eyes again, so he could focus on thinking better.

That vision he had had was extremely confusing. Actually, vision didn't really feel like the right word. It was more like a memory. It felt quite a bit like that, especially since it had been from a specific point of view. The memory was obviously that of the captured wizard. From what Rumpelstiltskin could gather, the wizard was captured by a powerful sorceress. It also seemed that the wizard had been betrayed by his daughter-in-law, who had turned in the wizard's son (her husband). However, the whole thing about descendants didn't make much sense. During the memory, he had felt as though he was the man's descendant and he was meant to help stop the evil sorceress. But that couldn't be. For one thing, he knew the memory was very old, so the sorceress should be dead. And besides that, he was just a cowardly spinner turned slave. There was no way could defeat a sorceress. Or maybe he could. After all, he was the first wizard in a long time who knew how to use magic despite his collar.

Before he could contemplate more, the door to his cell opened. Rumpelstiltskin opened his eyes and had to blink several times to get used to the light. It had seemed blinding at first, but now he realized that there was only one small lantern. When he saw who was carrying the lantern, he stiffened. It was the sorceress from his dreams. "Hello, Rumpelstiltskin," she greeted him. She stood a several feet away from him, studying him.

"And what might I call you?" he replied, studying her in return. Her brown hair told him little about her, but in her brown eyes he could she pure hatred. She hated him, and the only explanation was that the memory was right and he and his family were supposed to stop her.

"You may call me master," she told him.

"Well that's a rather unusual name," he joked. For all his time as being a slave, he knew better than that. But right now, he was testing her. He needed every bit of information he could get on this mysterious sorceress. Besides that, if he was supposed to try and defeat her, he couldn't put himself below her. It would only serve to undermine his confidence. He needed to establish himself as a major player in this game, and therefore he would not call her master.

"I see all your time as a slave has done little to teach you respect," she told him.

"I beg to differ," he argued. "If I truly am a wizard that can rival your power, then I should not have to call anyone master."

"Who told you that?" she questioned.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Belle must have told you all about her mission," the sorceress stated. Rumpelstiltskin worked hard to keep his face in a neutral expression. What did Belle have to do with any of this? "If you believed her about the power you had, why didn't you believe her when she told you it was evil?"

Belle had never told him any of this, and he knew she had never thought he was evil, but he thought it best to keep the memories a secret for now. "Magic is neither good nor evil; it is how you use it that determines its affiliation."

"It seems I underestimated you, spinner," the sorceress stated. "I thought you would be a safe person to let take the magic, all those years ago. After all, how could a cowardly spinner whose own wife left him ever be related to a great wizard? But, it seems I was wrong. You truly have his cunning."

"Who would that be?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"I'm not telling," the sorceress said. "But you are going to tell me something. You see, I lost track of your bloodline with your father. I have no clue where his is. You are my only lead on that account."

While Rumpelstiltskin had little love for the father that abandoned him, he knew this sorceress shouldn't find him. "He should be dead by know," he told her even though he knew his father was alive. "And besides, how should I know where he would be? He abandoned me years ago."

"I'm not playing diversion games," the sorceress cautioned. "So this nest question, you are going to answer with a yes, or a no." Her tone was deadly, and Rumpelstiltskin knew that if he crossed her, he was going to pay for it. "Do you know where your father is?"

"No," he responded. It wasn't technically a lie. He knew his father was most likely in Neverland, but that wasn't a sure thing.

"Answer this as simply and truthfully as possible. Where did you last see your father?"

Suddenly, Rumpelstiltskin was rather fond of the nightmares his father's absence had caused him. He continued to have those into adulthood, and he just happened to remember the last one. It wasn't really lying; she had never specified that he had to be talking about real life instead of dreams. "I last saw him in my house," he replied, still trying to forget the nastier parts of the dream where his father had been mistreating Henry.

"When?" she questioned.

"When I was five," he replied, switching back to real life answers instead of dream answers.

"You have no idea where he might be?"

"No, I do not."

"Fine, then you are of no use to me," she said, a wicked smile starting to form on her face. "Therefore, we can have some fun." Rumpelstiltskin didn't have to ask to know that torture was the sorceress's idea of fun. He felt fear wash over him, but he struggled to fight it back. She, however, seemed to sense it. "Don't worry," she told him in a mock soothing voice. "This will only hurt worse than anything you have ever felt before," she 'reassured' him before she sent a spell into his body. The worst part was that she was right; it was the most painful thing he had ever experienced.

* * *

What had happened? One minute he had been feeling intense pain, but now, he felt fine. 'I must have gone unconscious,' Rumpelstiltskin replied. 'Or maybe I died.' He hoped he hadn't died. He had to live. Henry would be so upset if he was dead. Suddenly, grass started springing up everywhere. He watched, fascinated, as flowers came up as well. A glance upward showed that the sky had formed and white puffy clouds were popping into existence.

_"You're it!" a little boy in peasant garments shouted, touching a boy in noble garments before running away._

_ "Not for long!" the blond-headed noble responded, giggling as he ran after his black-haired friend. _Rumpelstiltskin watched them in amusement as the played their game. He felt such happiness watching them. He never wanted it to stop.

_"I have to go now," the blond said with a sigh. "If they find out I've been gone, I'll get in trouble."_

_ "Alright," the other boy responded with a sigh. The noble started to leave, but just then he remembered something. "Wait!" The blond turned around. "I never caught your name."_

_ The boy thought for a moment, before finally deciding to answer. "I'm Prince Arthur."_

_ "Well, Arthur, I'm Merlin. Do you want to be best friends forever?"_

_ The prince grinned. "Absolutely."_

Rumpelstiltskin watched as the two split ways, shock coming over him. He was convinced that this was another memory, even though he wasn't seeing it from someone's point of view. If that was true, than he was positive that the wizard he had been in the last memory was Merlin, which meant that he was the descendant of one of the greatest wizards of all time. Maybe, just maybe, he could defeat the sorceress.


	7. Strange Meetings

**I'm posting this exactly one week after I posted the last chapter. It is a little shorter than normal, but it's not late, so that's good right? Anyways, I hope you enjoy it and if you like it, please review. It really makes my day. Thanks to Grace5231973 for reviewing. I always look forward to seeing what you have to say. So, without further ado, here's the chapter.**

* * *

"So, what's your name?" Henry asked the girl who had helped save him.

"Oh," she said, looking embarrassed. "I can't believe I forgot to tell you! Usually, my manners are much better than that. My name is…"

"There you are!" The whole group turned around to see Granny, Red, and the dwarves. "You can't go running off like this."

"Oh, but it's perfectly alright for you to kidnap me?" Henry yelled back at the old lady.

"One day you will understand," Granny told him. "This is all for the greater good of the Enchanted Forest."

"Well, I'm not coming back with you," Henry told her stubbornly.

"Well then, it appears I will have to force you to comply."

* * *

Daniel, Graham, and the Charmings had stopped by the side of the road to have something to eat. They were just finishing up, when a teenage boy approached them. "Excuse me, but do any of you know a Rumpelstiltskin?" Emma and her parents cast glances a Bae.

"I knew a Rumpelstiltskin a long time ago," Bae told the teen. "Why, do you know where he is?"

"No, I was actually looking for him myself. But wait, those eyes. Are you his son?"

"Yes," Bae replied. He was getting the feeling that he shouldn't trust this kid, and that feeling intensified when the kid gave him a very large, slightly creepy, grin.

"Nice to meet you, grandson."

* * *

"So, what's our escape plan?" Belle asked Robin. He looked at her, surprised.

"We don't have one," he responded. "After all, it's not exactly easy to escape from a sorceress, and when you have women and children with you, it might as well be impossible."

"Well, I know quite a bit about the sorceress," she informed him. "I think I could help you make a feasible escape plan." It appeared being tricked by an evil wizard had its upside after all.

"Alright then," Robin agreed. "Tell me what you know."

* * *

"Pinocchio!" Geppetto called for the hundredth time. It was starting to get slightly annoying, but he understood. He had called his own daughter's name just as many times as Geppetto had called for his son, but to no avail.

"I don't think they're nearby," the other member of his party remarked. Both parents turned on him, ready to yell at him for being so callous. However, just then, he heard something. His blood ran cold. That had sounded like his daughter's scream. He took off running, the others following close behind.

"You're coming with us," an old lady was saying as the three men burst into the clearing. He knew Geppetto and the doctor couldn't fight, so he ran forward and placed himself in-between the lady and his daughter.

"They aren't going anywhere with you," he said fiercely, pulling out his sword as he spoke. A quick look at the opposing forces made him realize that this fight would be a loss. There was just no way he could take down nine people while trying to protect his friends.

"All we want is that boy," the lady said, pointing. He turned briefly and realized that there were three children behind him instead of two.

"Are you his family?" he questioned, curious. He wasn't about to let them take the boy away though. He knew that some people could be very abusive to their kids, and he just wasn't going to stand for that. If the boy didn't want to go with these people, he wasn't going to let them take him.

"They're my kidnappers," the boy spoke up. Now he definitely wasn't going to let them take the kid.

The old lady must have seen a protective look cross his face, because she said, "Look, I can explain…"

"Not interested," he cut her off. Kidnapping was kidnapping and he refused to let this lady try to justify stealing the kid.

"Well, I'm afraid we need to have that kid," the lady replied. "And we are willing to take him by force."

He knew he would lose this if it came down to a fight. He could tell by the way these people were standing and holding their weapons that they were good. However, he didn't tend to rely upon silly things like fighting skill to keep himself alive. He much preferred distraction, misdirection, and disappearing. "Do you like my hat?" he question. Their reactions were priceless. They gawked at him like he was insane. He ignored them and turned, running back toward his allies. They had already responded to the code and were standing in a circle, holding hands.

"Hey!" someone yelled from behind. He was sure they were running towards him now. He grinned mischievously as he ran. No one had ever caught him when he had done this trick. He pulled the top hat off of his head and threw it with a spin. It landed in the center of the circle even as he slipped into his spot in the circle, in-between his daughter and the new boy.

"It was nice to meet you all," he stated as the portal grew bigger and bigger. "And by the way, you can call me the Mad Hatter!" Just then the portal was big enough and it sucked the group through. It wasn't a moment too soon because one of the dwarves almost succeeded in making it through the portal with them. He found himself laying on the ground.

"Don't worry, Mad Hatter," Granny stated. "We will find you eventually."

* * *

When he came to, he was alone and hurting in the dark. Good; that would give him time to think. He pushed his pain to the side, ignoring it. It wouldn't help him to dwell on it now. So, he focused on sorting out the mess he was in. After all, it isn't every day that you find out that you're related to the most powerful wizard who ever lived. It was a lot to take in, especially when you factored in the crazy sorceress who wants to wipe out your entire blood line. Rumpelstiltskin thought back to a conversation she and Merlin had had. She had said something about being different than him; better than him. Merlin had never discovered the difference, as far as Rumpelstiltskin could tell. That meant that he had to figure it out.

One of the obvious answers was that the sorceress was female. After all, Merlin and everyone now alive in his bloodline were male. However, something told him that wasn't it. He tried his best to concentrate. There had to be some difference. Just then, his stomach decided to interrupt his thoughts with a loud growl. He sighed. He had absolutely no idea how long it had been since he had last eaten. That's when his pain flared up again, and try as he might, he couldn't ignore the pain or the hunger.

He couldn't concentrate on figuring this out, so instead he let his thoughts wander. Oh how he wanted to talk to Regina and Henry. They could help him sort all this out. Regina would probably feed him too, he thought wistfully. He found he missed his family so much. What he wouldn't give to talk to them again. However, he knew that was never going to happen. In all likelihood, he would never even see outside this room ever again. That didn't seem to stop him for wishing.

* * *

Regina sat at the table, eating. She was alone, and she didn't like it. She desperately wanted to go find Henry or march up to the castle and demand that they let Rumple go. However, she knew doing either one of those things would only end up getting her killed. So she just sat there and ate, staring off into space and missing the friendly banter that usually went along with dinner. She had been picking at her food, her appetite not really there, when all of a sudden, she was starving. What was weird was that she was starving and full all at the same time. "What?" she mumbled to herself in surprise.

_"Regina?"_ a familiar voice questioned. She turned towards the door, fully expecting to see him there, leaning against his staff. There was no one there.

"I must be going crazy," she muttered. Then she realized that talking to herself was kind of crazy. She should probably not do that.

_"No, Regina,"_ his voice came again. _"It's me, Rumpelstiltskin. I think we're communicating telepathically!"_

"How is that possible?" she questioned aloud, searching the room to see where he might be. He chuckled.

_"Close your eyes,"_ he told her. She wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not, but she decided to do it anyways. However, if the crazy voices in her head told her to do anything more than that, she was determined not to listen to them.

"Rumple!" she exclaimed. She could see him when her eyes were closed. He looked awful. "What have they done to you?"

_"Well… they kind of tortured me,"_ he responded. That was obvious. Regina wanted to push the matter, but he interrupted her first. _"You aren't in pain are you?"_ he asked.

"No," she said, confused. She should be worried about him, not the other way around. "Why would I be?"

_"I have this odd feeling of being starving and full at the same time," _he informed her. That is when she remembered that she felt the same way. _"I figured I feel full because you do, and I was afraid that you might feel my pain."_

"I feel the whole hungry-full thing too," Regina informed him. "But I haven't felt any pain." She was confused. If they were sharing feelings, shouldn't she be in pain too?

_"I think I might be blocking it from you," _he mused, sounding slightly shocked.

"How are you even doing this?" she questioned.

_"I don't know,"_ he replied in a tone that showed that he was just as confused as she was. _"I was just thinking of you and Henry, and then I saw you."_

"Then why isn't Henry in on this?" she questioned, growing worried for his son. "Is he okay? The kidnappers didn't kill him, right?"

_"Henry's been kidnapped? I am going to kill that old lady if I ever get out of here! But look, I don't even know how I'm talking to you. How am I supposed to know why I'm not talking to Henry?"_

"Good point," Regina told him, giving in. "So, while we are talking, tell me what they've been doing to you." She really had to know what all they had been doing to her friend. She was worried sick about him.

_"Actually, there are more pressing matters," _he informed him. _"For starters, I'm the descendant of Merlin."_ Regina was so shocked that she didn't say anything. Therefore, he continued. _"There is also this crazy sorceress who was alive during Merlin's time and wants to wipe out my entire bloodline. She's the one who's been torturing me, by the way."_

Regina finally found words. "What? That's crazy! How do you even know any of that? And how could a person live for centuries?"

_"I know because I've been receiving memories from Merlin. As for the sorceress living for centuries, it could be magic. But no, wait. There is no way to be immortal except Neverland. Unless…"_

"What's Neverland?" Regina questioned when he stopped talking. "And unless what?"

_"I think…" _and then the connection broke. Rumpelstiltskin had vanished just as quickly as he had come, leaving her exactly the way she had been before. Regina decided she missed being hungry as she gloomily started picking at her food again.

* * *

"You're not even old enough to be a father," Emma told the boy who was claiming to be Bae's grandfather.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," the boy said, wagging a finger at her.

"He's related somehow," Graham spoke up. Daniel looked over and saw him holding the compass. The needle in it was moving back and forth between Bae and the boy. The boy turned to Graham, eyes narrowing.

"Where did you get that?" he questioned.

"A friend gave it to me," he responded. "We are sworn to protect your bloodline and help you defeat the sorceress."

"Really?" the boy questioned, looking a little too delighted.

"They will only serve us as warriors and protectors," Bae cut in, correctly interpreting the look. The boy's face fell slightly when he realized that he wouldn't get to use Graham as his personal slave.

"Whatever," the boy agreed in a sulky sort of way. "Anyway, we ought to find the others in our family."

"Hey, slow down a bit," Emma said. "We don't even know your name."

"I know yours, Emma," he replied. He grinned at Emma's shocked expression. "I know all your names."

"Then would you be so kind as to tell us what your name is?" Snow questioned.

"I am Peter Pan," he informed them, though it seemed like he only did it so that the others would get off his case about not saying. "Now, did you have any siblings or children, Bae?" he questioned. It was obvious that he had used Bae's name just to prove he could.

"I have a son," he said.

"Great! So let's go find them already," Pan stated.

"I've been looking for them both for years," Bae informed the kid. "How are we supposed to find them?"

Pan just grinned and waved his hand in Graham's direction. Daniel glanced down at the compass and noticed that it was no longer fluctuating between Pan and Bae. It now pointed in a completely different direction. "I made that stronger and made it so it won't find me or Bae," Pan explained.

"Then why is it only pointing in one direction?" King Charming questioned.

"Maybe they're together," Pan suggested. Then, a maniacal grin spread across his face. "Or maybe Rumpelstiltskin died already," he stated gleefully. Before the other could comment, he started walking in the direction the compass pointed out.

Emma slipped over to Bae. "No offense, but I don't like your grandpa, if that's even who he really is," she told him.

"Me, neither," Bae assured her. The group reluctantly went off in the direction Pan had taken.

* * *

She had walked in, breaking his concentration and forcing him to stop his conversation with Regina. He knew, and he was about to tell her so when pain shot through him. She looked extremely mad. He vaguely managed to realize that it was probably because he had somehow used magic despite the collar and the collar hadn't even punished him for it. Just after that, all rational thought abandoned him, and all he could do was scream.

* * *

"Are you sure," Robin asked her skeptically.

"Positive," Belle replied. "The next one is in three days."

"I suppose it's worth a try."

* * *

Henry looked around in shock. This place was like nothing he had ever seen before. His companions, however, did not seem surprised. "Home sweet home," one of the men said happily.

"Thanks again for letting us use your house as a getaway," the man with the top hat stated.

"No problem," the same man replied. "And by the way, you don't have to keep saying thank you. I was good after the first hundred times."

"Where are we?" Jiminy questioned from his spot on Henry's shoulder.

"I don't know Jiminy," Henry replied, "but I don't think we're in the Enchanted Forest anymore."

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin was exceedingly grateful when he finally went unconscious. It was a relief to stop feeling the horrible pain the sorceress inflicted. He glanced around as he saw grass popping up and the sky coming into focus. That's when he got excited. He was about to witness another memory. Suddenly, a tree sprung up right next to him. He jumped in shock as the whole area began to fill up with trees and forest vegetation.

Rumpelstiltskin heard a groan and turned in that direction. He saw a winding forest path and a man lying on it. The man looked as though he had been beaten and left there to die.

_"Merlin," the man croaked out. "Merlin, help me."_

_ A man appeared there right next to the beat up guy. "Oh my" he said as he bent down next to the injured guy. _

_ "Please, help me," the hurt man begged the sorcerer. "I have to help my people. I'll give you anything!" Merlin waved his hand over the man, instantly healing him._

_ "No price is necessary, my friend," Merlin told the man. "I take pleasure in helping whoever I can. Though I would be interested in hearing your tale." _Rumpelstiltskin smiled at his ancestor's kindness. He decided right then and there that he wanted to be just like Merlin.

_"I don't have much time, but the summary is that the king of this land is away," the man started explaining. "His brother took charge, but he has been cruel, taxing everyone too much. My friends and I started resisting him by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. He captured several people and is going to execute them tomorrow. That is why I was so desperate to live; I had to save my friends."_

_ "You have a noble heart," Merlin stated. "I will help you on your quest."_

_ "Really?" he asked, sounding like he thought this was too good to be true._

_ "Yes of course," Merlin agreed. "I cannot stand injustice. But now tell me, what is your name? I believe you already know mine."_

_ "Yes, sorry," the man replied sheepishly as he realized that he had forgotten to introduce himself. "I am Robin of Loxley, but all my friends call me Robin Hood."_


	8. Preparations

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry that I didn't post this sooner. I had band camp all this week, and so I only had time to do band stuff and sleep. So please forgive for this. Anyways, I hope you like it.**

* * *

A little while ago the group had joined up with Peter Pan's army of children. He called them the lost boys. No one had really liked the idea of Pan forcing a bunch of children to fight for him, but when he had threatened to turn them all into slugs instead, they had let the matter drop. Bae still refused to believe that this boy was directly related to him. He could maybe be some sort of distant cousin, but he just could not bring himself to think that they guy was his grandpa. It just wasn't possible.

"Something's wrong," Pan said. He had tensed, and now he was looking off into the forest.

"I feel it too," Emma agreed. They both obviously sensed something magical, but Bae couldn't feel a thing. Of course, if his magic was dormant, he wouldn't feel something like that. All the warriors in the group pulled out their weapons, preparing for a fight.

"Snow!" a woman's voice exclaimed happily, right in the middle of their group.

"Blue!" Snow responded, obviously pleasantly surprised. Everyone relaxed. That is, everyone except for Pan and Bae.

"Uh, good magic," Pan complained, turning up his nose as if he had just smelled something nasty. For all Bae knew, he might have. Magic could have a smell for magic users, couldn't it?

"Snow, why are you traveling with an evil sorcerer?" the fairy questioned, glaring at Pan. "He has done several horrible things!"

"He's helping us find Bae's father and our grandson," Snow explained. "And besides that, an evil sorceress is apparently targeting him as well as Bae and his family. It only made sense to stick together to fight the evil. After all, we would have all been fighting the same person anyways. If we work together, it will give us a better chance."

"It is never a good idea to work with evil," Blue admonished, still glaring at Pan.

"I'd rather work with evil than work with you," Bae argued. All his friends stared at him in shock. Pan seemed quite pleased. "You lied to me about my dad! Well, it doesn't matter, because I will find him. I married into a family that always finds each other, and I know that will include my father!"

"Oh Bae…" Blue started to say, sounding sympathetic.

"No!" Bae shouted angrily. "You don't get to call me that!"

"Alright then, Prince Baelfire," she said, placing an emphasis on his name as if she thought it might appease his anger. It didn't. Especially not when she continued. "Your father left you. He is not the sort of man you should want to find."

"Liar!" Bae yelled. Emma placed a hand on his arm to try and calm him down.

"Why exactly did he leave?" Pan asked. He looked altogether too curious.

"He was afraid of being drafted in the ogre war," Blue supplied. Pan's smirk made Bae feel sick.

"No! He went to go and stop us from being nothing more that sacrifices to the ogres! And soon after that, the war ended! I don't know what happened, but he didn't abandon me! He would never do that!"

"Bae, calm down," Emma said, trying to soothe him.

"You know, running away in cowardice sounds exactly like something Rumpelstiltskin would do," Pan mused.

"What do you know about my papa?" Bae questioned, hand on his sword.

"Well, he was my son," Pan stated. "And he always was a weakling."

"He was the strongest man I have ever met," Bae challenged, remembering how his papa had always born the scorn of the entire village without a complaint. Bae doubted that even he could do something like that.

"Well then, these three must not be men," Pan said as he gestured at King Charming, Graham, and Daniel. "Are they magical creatures or something?" Bae snarled in rage. "What? I can only assume that your dad is the only man you've ever meet if he was the strongest."

"Shut up Pan," Bae said. He was no longer shouting. His voice had gotten low. He sounded less threatening, but Emma knew it was actually the opposite. It was the quiet Bae you had to look out for. Pan either didn't pick up on this, or he didn't care.

"Make me," he taunted in an extremely childish fashion.

"Don't do it Bae," Emma cautioned. They really didn't have time to start a full out fight. Besides that, Pan was a magician. Emma would stand by her husband through anything, but attacking Pan seemed completely foolish to her.

"Attacking that evil man is actually a good idea," Blue put in.

"Why can't we all just try to get along?" Snow questioned.

"If people stop insulting my father, I won't have any problems," Bae responded.

"That's not going to happen," Pan stated. "I'm going to insult that cowardly useless thing as much as I want." Those were the wrong words. Emma suspected that Bae would have been able to contain himself if Pan had just called his dad a coward. He might even have been able to deal with worthless. But the minute Pan refused to acknowledge Rumpelstiltskin as a human being, she knew it was hopeless. Bae lunged at Pan, moving to punch him in the face. Pan merely threw him back with magic, laughing. That was when Emma snapped.

Pan was forced to stop laughing when he was slammed into a tree by Emma's magic. "No one hurts my husband," she informed him.

Pan stood up glaring at Emma. "No one crosses me," he said menacingly. That was when the full out war started. Emma and Pan were locked in a fierce magic battle while the rest of the group took on the lost boys.

"Oh dear," Blue said, looking at Snow. "Some poor souls need my help. I'm sorry, but I can't stay. This is urgent."

"I understand," Snow stated. Blue nodded her thanks at the understanding and flew off to help whoever it was that needed it. Snow sighed. She wished that the Blue Fairy had been able to stay. She would have been a great help against Pan.

* * *

Regina had been straightening Clara's room when she walked in with her brother. Clara would normally have greeted her, but Regina knew that the lady didn't dare with her brother Gaston around. Knowing him, he would have Regina whipped if his sister greeted her. Therefore, the two nobles just ignored her. That was fine by her, because it let her eavesdrop.

"So apparently, my slave is some type of powerful sorcerer," Gaston said. "He wants to destroy the world, so now he's being kept in prison." Regina knew that was all just a bunch of nonsense. Rumpelstiltskin was the least likely person to want to destroy the world. Unfortunately, Clara seemed to be buying it. Even though she was kind, or perhaps because of it, she was quite gullible.

"That's horrible," Clara stated. "How could anyone get so evil?" Regina only just stopped herself from snorting. Clara was acting like an ignorant little girl.

"Well, I seems like he went a bit crazy," Gaston explained.

Clara's eyes went wide. "How crazy?" she questioned.

"Well, uh…" Gaston was obviously trying to come up with something that would scare his sister. Regina rolled her eyes. This whole family was pathetic. "He started talking in a higher tone of voice. It's all creepy and stuff. And you should hear his laugh. It's so crazy that it doesn't even sound normal." By this point, Regina was trying very hard not to laugh. None of that sounded anything like Rumple. However, it appeared that Clara was taking in every word.

"Oh my, that sounds scary," she said.

"I haven't even told you the half of it," Gaston replied, obviously reveling in scaring his sister. "He makes funny hand motions when he talks, or at least he did before we chained him up. And his eyes are big and gold." Regina had to turn away so the nobles would not see her amused smile. Seriously, how did Gaston come up with this stuff? "But the worst part is his skin. It's not skin anymore; it's goldish scales." Regina only just managed to disguise her laugh as a cough. Neither noble paid her any mind.

"Are you sure that he can't get out of his prison?"

"Don't worry, he'd be killed before he even set foot outside his cell." Regina's good mood instantly disappeared. What was wrong with her? Rumple was in prison going through who knows what, and here she was laughing over rumors of how horrible his appearance was. Of how horrible he was. She remembered a time where she had wanted her freedom more than anything. Now, all she wanted was to get her family back.

* * *

He blinked rapidly when she entered, trying to get used to the light. He was starting to get sick of the darkness. He missed sunlight more than he'd ever thought possible. The only thing keeping him sane was the memories he kept getting from Merlin. That troubled him, for while he didn't know how long he'd been here, he did know he hadn't had anything to eat or drink this whole time. Therefore, it couldn't have been more than two days. If he was already breaking, that couldn't be good.

"Hello my pet," the sorceress said. He didn't respond. More than one snarky comment leapt to the front of his mind, but he didn't want to make her mad at him. So instead, he just stared at her. "I bet you're starting to get thirsty," she said. He knew she expected some sort of reply, but he still refused to say anything. "I brought you some water. Do you want it?" She was sounding entirely too nice. He suspected this was some sort of trick. Maybe she had poisoned the water? But then, would it matter if she had? He was going to die if he didn't drink.

"Yes," he said finally, admitting to what she already knew. Her eyes lit up when he said that. She came closer, holding a cup with water. She stopped right in front of him, taunting him by holding the cup just in front of his face. He refused to look at it. Instead, he looked into her eyes. She was enjoying this way too much.

"Then answer this question," she said. "How did you use magic without the collar stopping it?" He had known that she was up to something.

"I'm not sure," he spoke, his voice rough from the lack of water. The sorceress started to tip the cup, letting a few drops of the water spill onto the floor. "No, really!" he exclaimed, desperate to make her stop. "I was just thinking about how much I missed my friend, and then we were talking in our minds! I have no idea how I did it!" She gave him a look, trying to see whether he was telling the truth or not.

"Who is this friend of yours?" she questioned. He could almost feel the blood draining from his face. He couldn't tell her about Regina. Who knew what she would do to his friend? And then, somehow, he knew.

"Her name is Donna," he stated. "I knew her from when I lived in the village. I… I think she was dying." But the thing was, he knew she had died. If fact, she had died only a few minutes after he had been pulled away from his conversation with Regina. He must have instinctively used magic to figure that out. He watched the sorceress, waiting for any sign that she knew. However after a minute, she smiled.

"Your friend is dead," she said, taking pleasure from the fact. He let himself look sad. Donna was a good lady, and he truly did regret her passing. He felt kind of guilty for using her like this. "I see you have told me the truth. Here." She held the cup up to his lips and let him drink, purposely making some spill. He was too grateful for the precious gift to care. As soon as he was done, she made the cup disappear. "Now, I know that you don't know much about anything, so let me teach you something. Everything comes with a price."

His eyes widened as he realized what she meant. "I gave you information for that water," he stated fearfully, hoping she would change her mind.

"Yes, but what about me holding the cup to your lips? I haven't gotten anything for that." For a second, he contemplated pleading with her, begging her not to torture him. However, he realized she would listen to no such pleas. And besides that, if he begged that would mean he had broken. He didn't want to do that, not yet. "So now, you will pay that price in pain," the sorceress informed him as she start torturing him yet again.

* * *

"Hey, stop!" Emma yelled to Pan. He stopped attacking for a minute, waiting to see what she had to say. "Look," Emma said, gesturing to the two sides. People lay on the ground, injured. Both sides had been pretty much destroyed, leaving only the two magic users standing. "We'll never defeat a powerful sorceress like this."

"You have a point," Pan agreed. "Let's make a temporary alliance so we can get our armies back on their feet."

"I was hoping it would last longer than that, but deal," Emma agreed before walking over to her family and friends. Luckily, no one was dead, but it would take a while for them to be well enough to fight. Even with the added help of magic, it would probably be a few days. She sighed, and then got to work.

* * *

Three Days Later

Henry loved being in this land. He was also enjoying his companions. He had never played with other kids before, so having Grace and Pinocchio around was amazing. He thought Grace's dad, Mr. Jefferson, was really cool. He was the warrior of the group, and on top of that, he could create portals. Geppetto, Pinocchio's dad, was really nice and always made sure Henry had what he needed. Jiminy was always good at listening to everyone's problems and always gave good advice. And the other man, Dr. Frankenstein, was interesting. He lived in another world. How cool was that?

But Henry was missing his family more than ever. He desperately wanted to get back to them. He knew they must be worried. It made him sad that he couldn't tell them that he was alright. That's when he went to Mr. Jefferson. "I want to go home," he told the man.

"Interestingly enough, today is the day we were planning on going back," he replied with a grin. "The others are already packing up. I was just about to tell you."

"This is awesome," Henry exclaimed with joy as he ran to pack up the outfits and toys these people had given him. Soon he would be home and he could see his mom and grandpa again.

* * *

Both armies were back on their feet and Emma was nervous. They did not need to go back into another fight. Pan seemed similarly inclined. "Let's work together to defeat the sorceress," he suggested.

"If you don't make fun of my dad, I don't have a problem with that," Bae said.

"I'll try to avoid talking about that coward," Pan replied. Bae stiffened but didn't do anything. "So, let's head out," he said. Graham pulled out the compass and the temporary companions headed off to find whoever the arrow was pointing to.

* * *

"Today's the day," Robin stated.

"It will happen this afternoon," Belle agreed.

"Great. We only have a few more hours of waiting."

"And then, we strike."

* * *

All the memories he had been getting lately were of Merlin as a kid. They didn't really give him any new information. All they did was keep him from going insane, which he supposed was a good thing. The sorceress had been bringing him water more often. She had even given him food two times. But she always tortured him afterwards. In fact, every time she came, she tortured him. He was starting to dread the sound of footsteps, the creak of the door, and even the light of the lantern she brought with her.

Despite all this, his magic was growing. Just the other day he had discovered that Pan was back in the Enchanted Forest. Apparently, the sorceress couldn't tell that he was even using magic. He wasn't sure why that was. He only knew that he must be concealing it from her instinctively.

Then he heard the footsteps. He had to work hard to force himself to stay calm as the door creaked open and that dreaded light filled his prison. "Hello," the sorceress greeted wickedly. "I thought you might be getting lonely."

"I'm a bit of a loner, actually," he replied, wondering if she'd listen to him and just go away. Probably not.

"Even loners get lonely," she responded. "After all, a few days ago you were missing your friend. You know, the one that's dead."

"Yes, but I hadn't seen her for years," he replied.

"Well, someone has to comfort you," the sorceress countered, a rather sickening smirk on her face. "You must be so sad now that she's dead."

"Seeing as I'm a loner, I like to grieve alone."

"What kind of friend would I be if I left you alone in your time of need," she stated. He realized that she was starting to get bored with this. "Let me comfort you," she said, coming forward. She placed a hand on his back in a mock comforting gesture. Then, she started running her other hand through his hair. He was completely tense and still as a statue. That's when she started shooting painful magic into his body. "There, there," she cooed as he screamed in agony. "Everything is going to be alright."

* * *

_"So your father's name was Robin too?" Merlin asked curiously._

_ "It's a family tradition to name the firstborn son Robin," Robin replied._

_ "Well that's interesting," Merlin stated. "Oh, look," he said, pointing up at the sky. "An eclipse! I forgot there was one today."_

_ "Wow," Robin said as he stared up at the sight, unaware that Merlin a cast a spell to protect his eyes._

_ "Yes there is!" someone agreed. The two men turned around to see a bandit holding a sword. "And therefore, you can't use your magic!" Then the man charged at the sorcerer._

_ "What?" Robin asking in shock, already reaching for his sword. Merlin, however, simply chuckled. He raised his hand and sent the man falling backwards._

_ "You are mistaken," Merlin told the man who had wanted to take his life. "You see, it is magical creature that lose their abilities during the eclipse, not humans who have magic."_

_ Robin relaxed considerably once he realized that his friend was no longer in danger. "Let's get him to the prisons."_

_ "Indeed," Merlin agreed. _As the two walked off, Rumpelstiltskin contemplated what he had just seen. The sorceress had to be some sort of magical creature. This he had already determined. After all, no human could live as long as she had, even if they used magic. And if she was a magical creature, she would be affected by an eclipse. He focused, and his magic informed him that the next eclipse was this afternoon. He had to wake up, and fast. Because this afternoon, he was going to escape or die trying.

**If you've seen Avatar the Last Airbender then you know where I got the whole eclipse thing from. Unfortunately, I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender, but I thought this would be cool. Sorry again about posting late. I was planning on posting sooner, but everything changed when band camp attacked! (Sorry, couldn't resist that one.)**


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